General Motors (GM) has announced that all its manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Indiana will have their electricity needs met by 100 percent renewable energy.

In a statement on Tuesday, GM said it would purchase 200 megawatts (MW) of wind energy from wind farms in Ohio and Illinois. The business added that when the turbines come online at the end of 2018, 20 percent of its global electricity use would be powered by renewables.

"We're helping provide solutions to green the grid through these new renewable energy deals and sharing best practices with other companies so they too can reduce risk and energy costs," Rob Threlkeld, global manager of renewable energy at GM, said.

"With a pragmatic strategy, companies can turn ambitious renewable energy goals into action and scale quickly," Threlkeld added.

GM is a member of the RE100, a worldwide initiative of some of the world's biggest businesses, all committed to 100 percent renewable electricity. Other members include the Ikea Group, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Facebook.

For its part, GM said that it had been using renewable energy for "decades", which had helped it to save around $5 million per year. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. is "home to one of the largest and fastest-growing wind markets in the world."