Clearway Energy Group said it had signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) to support the 100MW Wildflower Solar project in DeSoto County, Mississippi.
Toyota, which has a car assembly plant in the state, will purchase the majority of the electricity the project will generate, 80MW, to replace the high emission electricity used in its operations with zero emissions renewable electricity on the grid.
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Wildflower is scheduled to begin operations in 2023 and is located close to the factory.
The Wildflower project is the second VPPA between Clearway and Toyota in as many years, building upon the agreement signed for the Black Rock wind farm now nearing completion in Grant County, West Virginia. That project is also located near another of Toyota’s factories.
The Wildflower VPPA portion Toyota will purchase is expected to generate electric power equal to approximately 8% of what Toyota takes off the grid for its domestic energy use in North America.
The Wildflower project adds to other solar and wind projects and VPPAs that Toyota has pursued to accomplish a Challenge 2050 goal to eliminate all carbon emissions from its operations.
Toyota Motor Corporation issued the challenge as a set of six goals.
Toyota also operates separate on-site solar energy generation and has been identified as one of the top 20 corporate users of installed onsite solar capacity in the US, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
