Toyota To Turn Coal Mine Into Solar Facility As Part Of Carbon-Neutral Initiative

Toyota Motor Corp TM and Savion have signed a power purchase agreement.

Savion develops utility-scale, greenfield solar photovoltaic power projects for renewable and cost-effective energy.
Toyota will offtake 100-megawatts (MW) of the electricity generated as part of Savion’s Martin County Solar Project through a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA).
The former Martiki Coal Mine, a brownfield site in Martin County on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia, will be converted into a solar photovoltaic energy facility.
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Martiki site has clear access to light from the sun, making it easy for 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 a00MW that Toyota will offtake from the project will be used primarily to help reduce the company's carbon footprint in North America.
The move is in-line with the company's plans to make all operations in North America carbon-neutral by 2035.
"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 senior manager of environmental sustainability David Absher.