plants

General Motors is investing more than $30 million of investment in its Pontiac Stamping plant to retool and enhance manufacturing equipment, and 290 hourly and salaried jobs at the 79-year-old plant.

The enhancements will include upgrading three conventional press lines already operating at the plant and the installation of two additional presses that are part of the company's stamping consolidation project, GM said today in a press release.

Pontiac Stamping provides parts to the new Chevrolet Sonic and the new Buick Verano, among other products.

"GM continues to invest in our manufacturing operations to ensure we have the … Read more

As Japan grapples with a nuclear reactor crisis in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, many in the U.S. have been wondering about the safety of nuclear power plants closer to home.

In a well-timed report issued yesterday, the Union of Concerned Scientists examines a number of incidents and "near-misses" at plants in the United States in 2010 and gives the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission mixed reviews on its role as the nation's nuclear safety inspector.

The timing of the report is also significant as it coincided with President Obama's announcement yesterday … Read more

Ford today celebrated the opening of the most flexible plant the company operates. The Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP) has been designed to build gasoline-powered, battery electric, hybrid electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the same line. The plant assembles the new Ford Focus, and will begin producing the Focus Electric later this year.

In December, the company announced an investment of $550 million to remodel the assembly plant.

According to a Ford statement, the Wayne, Mich., plant "features an environmentally friendly workplace with flexible manufacturing capability."

"MAP epitomizes the best of what Ford stands for--fuel efficiency, … Read more

Anxiety over Japan's damaged nuclear plant increased today as the United States' top nuclear regulator told Congress the situation was worse than reported by the Japanese government and that "extremely high" radiation levels could hamper containment efforts.

The American Embassy in Tokyo, meanwhile, recommended evacuation to U.S. citizens within 50 miles of the plant--an area much larger than the approximately 12-mile radius established by the Japanese. Still, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission maintained that there was little cause for worry about radioactive drift on the part of residents of Hawaii or the West Coast of … Read more

By rebranding the Dodge Grand Caravan as the Ram cargo van, or Ram C/V, Chrysler has paved the way to expand in the commercial van segment.

The U.S. automaker has more than 25 years of minivan engineering and promises the Ram C/V will meet the needs for small and large businesses.

The Ram C/V is a Class 1 commercial vehicle that offers a 1,800-lb. cargo payload and up to 3,600 lbs. in towing capability. It also features 16-inch steel wheels, a 160-amp alternator, 20-gallon fuel tank, and it runs on a 3.6-liter Pentastar … Read more

First Solar has signed a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, to supply its thin-film solar panels to China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development (CGN SEDC), the company charged with building and running China's massive solar plant, First Solar company announced today.

The solar farm in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, is planned to be a 2,000-megawatt facility when fully completed by its estimated date of 2019.

While several companies will be involved in the design, construction, and operations of the giant facility, CGN SEDC is the majority owner of the project and will be the primary overseer of the facility'… Read more

After record solar-plant approval in 2010, the California Energy Commission believes its "big push" in solar-thermal projects is over.

This past year represented a "sea change" as regulators ended a 20-year dry spell and fast-tracked solar-thermal plant approval, spokesman Adam Gottlieb told Reuters yesterday, helping drive the state's and nation's broader renewable-energy goals.

But because so many developers were rushing to meet a December 31 deadline for federal incentives, CEC staff are expecting a slower year in 2011. In hindsight, the rush was overdone, given that Congress has now extended that deadline for federal … Read more

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Monday approved the Amargosa Farm Road Solar Project, the third major solar project to gain approval to be built on U.S. public lands.

The two 250-megawatt plants will be built by Solar Millennium, a German company that makes parabolic-shaped concentrated solar panels. Each plant will include a thermal energy storage system so that it can continue to supply electricity during cloud cover or at night for up to 4.5 hours per plant. Some of the solar-generated electricity will be explicitly directed toward powering buildings in Las Vegas, according to Solar Millennium.… Read more

Intel traditionally builds chips for its own use, but it's now branching out to create one for another manufacturer.

Intel will create chips based on its 22-nanometer technology for Achronix Semiconductor, Achronix announced today. This marks the first time Intel is designing a chip for another manufacturer and may indicate that the chip giant is looking to do some contract manufacturing for outside customers.

Based in San Jose, Calif., Achronix will use Intel's 22-nanometer chips to develop its own Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). FPGAs are integrated circuits that can be programmed after they've been manufactured, allowing … Read more