Industrial, Solar  -  January 27, 2020

Toyota and Dow sign PPAs for Ky. solar plant

Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown, Ky., and Dow, a manufacturer of silicones, completed PPAs with local utilities that will generate 100 MW of solar power in the region to power their operations.

Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company filed Jan. 23 with the Kentucky Public Service Commission for approval of three contracts that will allow construction of the solar facility, two of which are with Toyota and Dow. The solar facility is expected to be completed and operational by 2022.

Toyota and Dow represent the utilities’ largest industrial customers. The manufacturing facility in Georgetown is Toyota’s largest in the world.

“We are pleased to enter into an agreement with LG&E and KU to build and provide renewable energy for our largest manufacturing facility in the world,” Kevin Butt, director of Environmental Sustainability for Toyota Motor North America, said in a statement. “This project will provide positive economic and environmental benefits to a community where we’ve been happy to be doing business for 34 years. Also, it supports Challenge 3 of the global Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 to eliminate all carbon emissions from manufacturing by the middle of the century.”

Toyota will receive 50% of the solar power generated at the facility, Dow will receive 25% and the remaining 25% will be served to the utilities’ electric customers. The 20-year agreement includes a locked-in flat price per kilowatt.

In 2019, the utilities approved the Green Tariff, which rolled their Green Energy and Business Solar programs under one tariff and provided a third option for customers interested in purchasing renewable power. In support of the program, the utilities issued a request for proposals for up to 200 MW of renewable energy in early 2019.

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