Whirlpool (WHR) Starts Construction Of Marion Wind Project

In sync with its commitment to producing cost-effective and environmentally-friendly products in the U.S., Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) started the construction of its latest wind project in Ohio, which will power its Marion manufacturing facility in the state. The three-turbine project is expected to meet about 19% of the total power consumption of the Marion plant after its completion.

The project is expected to directly deliver wind energy to the plant by early 2017. This project will not only power the plant but also help eliminate more than 9,000 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions. The three turbines installed at the Marion project will be built and financed by One Energy, which is the company’s partner in two other wind projects in Ohio, as a part of its “Wind for Industry” projects.

The Marion plant is the third manufacturing plant in Ohio, where Whirlpool is investing under its “Wind for Industry” project to partially power its manufacturing units. Under this project, the company’s two-turbine wind project is fully operational and is powering its Findlay plant, since Jan 2016. Further, in October, the company started construction of a similar single-turbine project at its Ottawa facility, which is expected to be operational by early 2017.

Following the completion of the Marion and Ottawa wind projects, the company expects to manufacture many dishwashers, freezers and clothes dryers with the option to be powered by wind energy.

The completion of Whirlpool’s aforementioned wind projects have the potential to make the company one of the largest Fortune 500 consumers of on-site wind energy in the United States. Together, these projects are expected to produce enough clean energy to power over 2,400 average American homes per year.

Additionally, a scholarship was announced to encourage the local high school pass-outs planning to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in accredited colleges. The company offered three $5,000 Megawatt STEM scholarships to be awarded every year by Whirlpool.

This project demonstrates Whirlpool’s commitment toward developing the local community, while promoting the idea of lowering environmental degradation caused by industrial operations. This has been largely benefiting the company’s stock price in recent times.

Closing trade at $173.80 per share, Whirlpool’s shares surged 2.6% yesterday and 18.3% year to date. Further, the stock is outperforming the Zacks categorized Appliances-Household industry that has recorded year-to-date growth of 17.8%.

Zacks Rank

Whirlpool currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Better-ranked stocks include Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:BBY) , The Children’s Place Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE) and Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Best Buy has gained a solid 59.3% year to date. Moreover, it has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.9%.

Children’s Place, with a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%, has surged a whopping 97.6% year to date.

Zumiez has jumped 65% year to date. The stock has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%.

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