A core component supplier for Japanese car giant Toyota has celebrated the commissioning of a 2-megawatt solar carport at a facility in Japan which is expected to save nearly 40 per cent on electricity costs.
JTEKT Corporation, a global manufacturer of automotive and industrial components has opened the solar carport facility in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, and is expected to generate approximately 2,500 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity each year.
The solar facing covers 640 parking spaces and was completed in only 5 months, and was delivered under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Peak Energy, a Singapore based clean energy developer with over 300 MW of operating assets and another 1-gigawatt (GW) of capacity in development across Asia and Australia.
The opening is well-timed, given the soaring costs of fossil fuel because of the Middle East crisis, and because Japanese companies are heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels.
The fact that the company could secure the power by making use of existing parking space and minimising disruption to plant operations, presents a replicable model for Japanese manufacturers looking to reduce electricity costs despite limited available land.
Electricity generated by the solar carport will be consumed on-site, and will help the company deliver its target of cutting CO₂ emissions by 60% by fiscal year 2030 – compared to fiscal year 2013.
JTEKT expects its new carport solar installation to help avoid 1,090 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, the equivalent of removing 230 cars from the road.