Self-automated driving car company, Cruise, run by General Motors
Cruise also has recently secured revenue in order to take passengers in test cars within the city of San Francisco without any live people driving them.
Since droughts are continuing to afflict California farmers, then changing farmland to solar farms is a possible way to enable California to reach its climate change objectives, according to a report from the environmental nonprofit Nature Conservatory agency. This is the reason that Cruise believed it was necessary to consult with Central Valley farms.
"Farm to Fleet is a vehicle to rapidly reduce urban transportation emissions while generating new revenue for California's farmers leading in renewable energy," stated Rob Grant, Cruise's vice president of social affairs and global impact, in a blog post.
In addition, Cruise is paying settled contract rates with its partner, BTR Energy. Although the company is not revealing the expenses, it claims that it is paying approximately the same amount that it would be for other renewable energy credits.
As soon as Cruise purchases credits from other farms, a certain portion of electricity usage will come from a renewable source. In spite of the fact that Cruise did not reveal the number of renewable energy sources that it intends to buy from the farms, it states that it will be the right amount to empower the fleet.
"While the solar power still flows through the same grid, Cruise purchases and then ultimately 'retires' the renewable energy credits generated by the solar panels at the farms," said Ray Wert, Director of Corporate Communications of Cruise, in a statement. "Through data that we submit to the California Air Resources Board quarterly, we retire a number of RECs equivalent to the amount of electricity we used to charge our vehicles."
With its new self-driving vehicles, Cruise surely has many goals in mind when it comes to the purchase of solar energy from California farmers. To go along with this, its new Farm to Fleet initiative will not only be healthier for the environment, but also more beneficial for farmers who are looking to gather revenue.