- Brownfield coal mining site to be converted to produce clean,
renewable solar energy
- Site located in energy community featuring existing
transmission infrastructure
- Toyota signs agreement with Savion to offtake 100 MW of
electricity to be generated by project
MARTIN
COUNTY, Ky., May 24, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- The sun will power more of Toyota Motor North
America Inc.'s (Toyota's) operations thanks to a new power purchase
agreement with Savion. Today, Toyota announced that it has
agreed to offtake 100-megawatts (MW) of the electricity generated
as part of renewable energy company Savion's Martin County Solar
Project through a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA). The
project is converting the former Martiki Coal Mine, a brownfield
site in Martin County, on the
border of Kentucky and
West Virginia, into a new, clean
solar photovoltaic energy facility. Once an active coal mine on the
top of a mountain that closed in the 1990s, the Martiki site has
clear access to light from the sun, making it an ideal location for
reclamation and the installation of solar photovoltaic panels for
electricity generation. Construction on the project is anticipated
to begin in mid-2023 and commercial operation is expected in
2024.
"The Martin County Solar Project in Kentucky is really special as an example of
how renewable energy VPPAs can bring new opportunities to former
coal and energy communities and will help Toyota achieve our goal
of increasing purchased renewable electricity to 45 percent or more
of our total purchased electricity by 2025," said David Absher, senior manager of environmental
sustainability at Toyota Motor North America. "It is important that
renewable power is more available to large-scale U.S. energy
buyers, and converting brownfields like this offers a path forward
for former energy communities to take advantage of the
infrastructure they already have with transmission lines while
providing clean energy to the grid."
The 100 MW that Toyota will offtake from the project will be
used primarily to help reduce the company's carbon footprint in
North America, supplementing the
model it has created of environmental stewardship in Kentucky, the state with Toyota's largest
vehicle manufacturing plant in the world. The move is in-line with
the company's plans to make all its operations in North America carbon neutral by 2035.
Savion is developing the Martin County Solar Project with the
support of local development partner Edelen Renewables. With
dedicated support from state officials and local leadership, the
project's development phase continues to advance. The overall
project, once completed, is expected to be one of the largest solar
energy generation facilities operating in Kentucky.
"We are thankful for the local community, community officials,
state officials, and the many local professionals that have
supported this project," said Kevin
Butt, regional environmental sustainability director at
Toyota Motor North America.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE: TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in
North America for more than 65
years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation
mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than
1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in
North America who have contributed
to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars
and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota's 14th
plant in North Carolina will begin
to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With
more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker,
Toyota currently offers 22 electrified options.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights
the way it partners with community, civic, academic and
governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing
mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move,
anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit
www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Media Contacts
Aaron Fowles,
Aaron.fowles@toyota.com
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SOURCE Toyota Motor North America