General Motors announced today it will add a 1.2 megawatt solar power installation to the roof of its transmission assembly plant in White Marsh, Maryland.

The system will be deployed under an agreement with SunEdison, North America’s largest solar energy services provider. Under the agreement, SunEdison will finance, install, operate and maintain the system.

When fully operational in the third quarter of 2009, the system will be one of the largest rooftop solar installations on the East Coast. The system will consist of more than 8,700 solar panels and will sit on approximately 300,000 square feet of roof space.

The installation will generate about 1.4 million kWh of clean renewable solar energy, which is equivalent to the demand of about 140-150 U.S. households with an average annual consumption of 10,000 kWh. Additionally, the installation will enable GM to displace about 20 percent of the plant’s current power purchased from the local utility with a renewable energy resource, while reducing the plant’s utility bill.

“This project will help GM reduce costs while serving as a clean, renewable energy source,” said John R. Buttermore, GM Powertrain Vice President of Global Manufacturing. “Through innovation and commitment, GM is making a significant, positive impact on the environmental issues facing our world.”

The White Marsh plant reached landfill-free status in 2007, because it no longer sends any production waste to local landfills. All the waste generated at the facility is entirely recycled or reused. The Baltimore plant is GM’s first global manufacturing facility to operate landfill-free and have a solar power installation.

The State of Maryland has made an aggressive commitment to developing and promoting renewable energy sources and the GM project has support from the highest levels of the state government.

“Maryland is quickly becoming a national leader in sustainable energy alternatives,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “We’re proud that GM is making this clean energy pledge at their Baltimore County plant, demonstrating their commitment as responsible corporate citizens to the long-term future of the environment we share as Marylanders.”

GM currently has two of the largest solar power installations in the United States on the roofs of its Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, California parts warehouses. Upon completion later this year, GM also will have the world’s largest rooftop solar power installation at its Zaragoza, Spain car assembly plant.

“GM is making significant progress in reducing the impact our facilities have on the environment,” said Elizabeth A. Lowery, GM vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. “Our expanding commitment to renewable energy sources, like solar power, is part of our coordinated global effort to reduce energy use, water consumption, waste and CO2 emissions.”

Additionally, GM is one of the largest corporate users of landfill gas in the U.S. Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of solid waste in landfills. GM is one of the largest users of renewable energy as well. Last August General Motors received the Corporate Energy Management of the Year Award from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). The award recognizes the company’s worldwide leadership in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The GM Powertrain Baltimore transmission plant builds the Allison A1000 six-speed automatic transmissions which are featured in the award-winning Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups. The plant built 189,000 of Allison A1000 six-speed transmissions in 2007. It also builds the Hybrid 2 mode transmission currently used in the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Chrysler plans leverage alliances with other global auto makers, such as Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., with an eye to model-year ’10 vehicles and hints at some all-new products as early as next year.

GM, meanwhile, dramatically has stepped back its pickup and SUV production, a move that will see truck output cease at four assembly plants and ramped up car and CUV builds. It plans a new compact car for the U.S. in mid-2010.

The situation has contributed to second-quarter losses of $15.5 billion at GM and $8.7 billion at Ford. As a private company, Chrysler does not file a quarterly financial report, but the auto maker earlier this month claimed first-half earnings of $1.1 billion before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

Meanwhile, Asian auto makers – while not entirely immune to the shift in consumer demand due to a shortage of cars – have been able to seize the opportunity. American Honda Motor Inc, for instance, has managed to post a sales gain this year on the strength of its fuel-sipping Civic compact. And with demand for its Prius hybrid soaring, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. has fashioned a reputation as the nation’s greenest auto maker.

Fornell’s quarterly survey reflects Detroit’s present fortunes. No Detroit-based auto maker ranks among the top four nameplates, yet the bottom three in the industry all are American brands. Chrysler’s Dodge and Jeep brands bring up the very rear of the survey.

Toyota’s Lexus brand and BMW AG’s namesake led all auto makers in the survey. The Toyota and Honda brands both improved 2%, compared with the previous quarter, to surpass GM’s Buick and Cadillac brands for the survey’s No.2 spot. The longtime U.S. nameplates were joined at No.3 by Saturn, which leapt 5% to post its biggest gain since 1998.

Fornell cites GM’s use of a new marketing tagline, “Rethink American,” as well as a revitalized lineup that includes the Aura sedan, which won the 2007 North American Car of the Year, the Outlook CUV and the sporty Astra compact.

“Continuing this momentum, later this year Saturn will offer a hybrid version of the SUV,” Fornell says. “It has started to invite buyers to live chat services online, provide test-drives at home or the office, and has also revamped a number of dealership facilities. Last year, the division had a 13% increase in retail sales. Even though sales have slowed considerably since, it has been less depressed compared with several other GM brands.”

GM’s Chevrolet brand, for instance, suffered the survey’s the greatest plunge 4%.

Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury brand slipped 4% in consumer’s eyes to tie with Hyundai and GM’s GMC division at No.4. Nissan, Mazda and Kia followed the Blue Oval brands with a 3% improvement. Nissan pulled equal to the industry average while Mazda and Kia dropped below average.

Nonetheless, the survey leaves little for auto makers to look forward to, as it also forecasts weak consumer spending with growth of no more than 2.3% in the third quarter.