Bendix solar installation wins 2022 Indiana Governor's Award

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management gave Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems the 2022 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence for the solar array it built at its Huntington, Indiana, manufacturing plant. One year after it went online, the 1.168-megawatt solar installation won the award in the category of "Energy Efficiency/Renewable Resources," Avon-based Bendix said in a news release. Bendix officials accepted the award at a ceremony in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Formerly based in Elyria, Bendix designs, develops and builds safety and braking equipment for commercial vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy previously named the Bendix solar array a 2022 Better Project Award winner in the department's Better Plants program. Its Avon headquarters also is LEED Silver certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. PSG Energy Group of Indianapolis managed the construction of the array. The solar photovoltaic system consists of 2,612 ground-mounted panels, producing 1.5 million kilowatt-hours annually, saving 30 percent of site electricity use, and reducing the site's total carbon footprint by 19 percent, according to Bendix and the U.S. Department of Energy. "We're pleased that our efforts in Huntington have earned the respected distinction of a Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence," said Maria Gutierrez, Bendix director of corporate responsibility and sustainability. "Our goal when we came on-line in August 2021 was to reduce Bendix's carbon footprint while also saving costs."Bill Schubert, Bendix corporate manager, environmental and sustainability, said in the news release that the plant will use all the energy generated during normal hours of operation. On weekends and holidays, it will send excess energy back to the electrical grid, and save the company an estimated $140,000 in electrical costs annually.