Toyo Seat, Choshu Industry, The Chugoku Electric Power, and Mazda Motor Corporation have reached an offsite corporate power purchase agreement (PPA)*1 on solar power generation, a renewable source of energy, to support the transition towards a carbon neutral society. Under the PPA, Choshu Industry will serve as the electric power producer, with Choshu Industry and Mazda installing new solar power generation facilities on unused land in the Chugoku Region, using those facilities to generate electricity, which will then be sold to Chugoku Electric Power. Chugoku Electric Power will then supply this electricity to Toyo Seat and Mazda as a source of renewable energy.*2
“Mazda began using renewable energy on site in July 2021 with the installation of solar panels on the roof of our plant. To become carbon neutral throughout our supply chain by 2050 and at out plants throughout the world by 2035, it is essential for us to work together with various stakeholders to promote the wider adoption of offsite corporate PPA, and we believe that this project will serve as a valuable first step towards the wider use of renewable energy sources within the Chugoku Region,” said Hironaka Taketo, Executive Officer, in charge of Production Engineering, Business Logistics, Carbon Neutrality and Cost Innovation, Mazda Motor Corporation.
This agreement is the Chugoku Region’s first offsite corporate PPA involving more than one electric power consumer. From April this year, under the PPA, Chugoku Electric Power will commence, in stages, the supply of approximately 4,900 kW in renewable energy generated by solar panels to plants and other places of business belonging to Toyo Seat and Mazda. These arrangements are expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2,610 tons.
*1. An Offsite Corporate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) is a long-term contract for the purchase of electric power under which a company producing electric power through solar power generation facilities agrees to provide power generated using those facilities to a designated user or users based in a location separate from the solar power generation facilities, supplying that power to them via an electric power transmission network operated by an electric power retailer.
*2. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (MITI) provides subsidies to cover a portion of the expense of installing solar power generation facilities in cases where consumers of electric power coordinated with an electric power producer to establish such facilities. “These subsidies are intended to promote such collaborations and encourage wider adoption of independent initiatives to establish renewable energy sources, contributing to a reliable, long-term, supply-demand balance in energy use during the period up until 2030, thereby supporting the achievement of ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Mazda Adding Renewable Solar Power to Japanese Plants
Toyo Seat, Choshu Industry, The Chugoku Electric Power, and Mazda Motor Corporation have reached an offsite corporate power purchase agreement (PPA)*1 on solar power generation, a renewable source of energy, to support the transition towards a carbon neutral society. Under the PPA, Choshu Industry will serve as the electric power producer, with Choshu Industry and Mazda installing new solar power generation facilities on unused land in the Chugoku Region, using those facilities to generate electricity, which will then be sold to Chugoku Electric Power. Chugoku Electric Power will then supply this electricity to Toyo Seat and Mazda as a source of renewable energy.*2
“Mazda began using renewable energy on site in July 2021 with the installation of solar panels on the roof of our plant. To become carbon neutral throughout our supply chain by 2050 and at out plants throughout the world by 2035, it is essential for us to work together with various stakeholders to promote the wider adoption of offsite corporate PPA, and we believe that this project will serve as a valuable first step towards the wider use of renewable energy sources within the Chugoku Region,” said Hironaka Taketo, Executive Officer, in charge of Production Engineering, Business Logistics, Carbon Neutrality and Cost Innovation, Mazda Motor Corporation.
This agreement is the Chugoku Region’s first offsite corporate PPA involving more than one electric power consumer. From April this year, under the PPA, Chugoku Electric Power will commence, in stages, the supply of approximately 4,900 kW in renewable energy generated by solar panels to plants and other places of business belonging to Toyo Seat and Mazda. These arrangements are expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2,610 tons.
*1. An Offsite Corporate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) is a long-term contract for the purchase of electric power under which a company producing electric power through solar power generation facilities agrees to provide power generated using those facilities to a designated user or users based in a location separate from the solar power generation facilities, supplying that power to them via an electric power transmission network operated by an electric power retailer.
*2. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (MITI) provides subsidies to cover a portion of the expense of installing solar power generation facilities in cases where consumers of electric power coordinated with an electric power producer to establish such facilities. “These subsidies are intended to promote such collaborations and encourage wider adoption of independent initiatives to establish renewable energy sources, contributing to a reliable, long-term, supply-demand balance in energy use during the period up until 2030, thereby supporting the achievement of ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.