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Toyota North America has signed a 15-year purchase agreement for the solar energy produced by the project
CHARLOTTE, NC – Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions has expanded its solar energy portfolio by acquiring the 100-megawatt (MW) Wildflower Solar project from Clearway Energy Group. The solar project will generate enough energy to power approximately 21,000 homes.
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions* is a non-regulated commercial brand of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK).
The site, which is expected to begin full construction in late 2022 and achieve commercial operation in late 2023, is located in Desoto County, MS. This is the first Mississippi-based renewable energy project for Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.
Toyota North America has signed a 15-year virtual power purchase agreement for up to 80 MWs of solar energy produced by the project. The agreement will settle finances on a generated basis tied to the project’s real-time energy output.
Wildflower Solar, located near Toyota’s Mississippi manufacturing facility, will help the automotive manufacturer replace the high-emission electricity used in its operations with zero-emissions renewable electricity on the grid. The move represents another major step towards Toyota’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality in its operations by 2035.
“We are excited to continue expanding our commercial solar portfolio and enter the Mississippi market, building on the area’s clean energy resources,” said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. “Once complete, Wildflower Solar will further diversify Mississippi’s energy infrastructure, while also reducing Toyota’s emissions from its North American operations.”
“Our collective future depends on clean mobility, clean air, clean water and biodiversity,” said Kevin Butt, director of sustainability at Toyota Motor North America. “Renewable energy sources, such as solar, are a key to achieving our goal of carbon neutrality and our purchase from Wildflower alone has the potential to reduce Toyota’s carbon footprint in North America by at 8 percent.”
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions will own and operate the project, which is expected to employ 300 at peak construction. Along with the indirect economic benefits that accompany solar project development, such as increased local spending in the service and construction industries, the Wildflower Solar facility will also have a positive economic impact on local community by providing more tax revenue for Mississippi public schools.
As one of the nation’s leading renewable energy providers, Duke Energy has more than 10,500 MW of solar and wind energy.
About Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions is a leader in sustainable energy, helping large businesses reduce electricity costs, lower emissions and increase resilience. The team provides wind, solar, stable backup power and energy management services to more than 1,000 projects across the US, with a total power capacity of more than 5,100 megawatts of renewable energy. or that energy.
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions is a nonregulated commercial brand of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company and one of the largest energy holding companies in the US, headquartered in Charlotte, NC
The brand includes the following subsidiaries of Duke Energy Corporation that are registered to transact business in various states and may be branded as Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions for marketing purposes: Duke Energy One, Inc.; Duke Energy Commercial Enterprises, Inc.; Duke Energy Renewables, Inc.; Duke Energy Renewables Commercial, LLC; Duke Energy Renewable Services, LLC.; Duke Energy Renewables Storage, LLC; Duke Energy Renewable Wind, LLC.; Duke Energy Renewables Solar, LLC.; and REC Solar Commercial Corporation.
About Clearway Energy Group
Clearway Energy Group is leading the transition to a world powered by clean energy. Along with our public subsidiary Clearway Energy, Inc., we own and operate more than 8 gigawatts of renewable and conventional energy assets nationwide. As we develop a national pipeline of new renewable energy projects for a future, Clearway’s 5.7 gigawatts of wind, solar and energy storage assets offset the equivalent of over of 10.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions for our customers today. Clearway Energy Group is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Carlsbad, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; Houston; and Princeton, NJ For more information, visit clearwayenergygroup.com
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to creating vehicles for people’s lifestyles through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we have built more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the US), and directly employs more than 47,000 people (more than 36,000 in the US). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the US) sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the US) in 2020.
Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “continue,” “should,” “could,” “could,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “will,” “potential,” “forecast,” “target,” “outlook,” “guidance,” and similar expressions. Various factors may cause actual results to be materially different from the results suggested in the forward-looking statements; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such results will be realized. These risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Duke Energy’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed on
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements may not occur or may occur to a different extent or at a different time than those described in Duke Energy. Duke Energy expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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