Clearway Energy Group has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) to support Clearway’s 100 MW Wildflower Solar project in DeSoto County, Miss.
Toyota will purchase the majority of the electricity the project will generate, 80 MW, to replace the electricity used in its operations with zero-emissions renewable electricity on the grid. Wildflower is scheduled to begin operations in 2023 and is located in proximity to Toyota’s manufacturing facility within the state.
The Wildflower project marks the second VPPA between Clearway and Toyota in as many years, building upon the agreement that TMNA signed for the Black Rock wind farm now nearing completion in Grant County, W.Va. That project is also located near another of Toyota’s manufacturing facilities.
“We are excited to once again partner with Toyota to support their ambitious net-zero goals,” says Valerie Wooley, vice president of origination at Clearway. “Additionally, we’re as equally excited to be partnering with them again in the local communities where we work and live, helping create healthier communities and growing the local economy.”
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. “Toyota continues to aggressively shift to renewable energy sources for our operations while also working to improve the lives of the people in communities where we work and live, all a part of our efforts toward carbon neutrality,” states Kevin Butt, regional environmental sustainability director at Toyota Motor North America.
