Mazda expands on-site solar PPAs and battery storage at KD Center and Miyoshi Plant with ORIX
Mazda is widening its use of on-site solar power purchase agreements to its Mazda KD Center and Miyoshi Plant, adding battery storage as it chases carbon neutrality at its global factories by 2035.
- 2035
- 2.2MW
- 2.6GWh
- 0.9GWh
What Happened
Mazda Motor Corporation is advancing initiatives built on three pillars: energy conservation, shifting to renewable energy and introducing carbon-neutral fuels, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality at its global manufacturing facilities by 2035. As part of its renewable energy initiative, the Hiroshima-based automaker will expand the use of on-site power purchase agreements to the Mazda KD Center, scheduled for completion in November, and to the Miyoshi Plant, which includes a battery energy storage system. ORIX Corporation will act as the PPA provider at both sites, installing the solar power generation equipment.
- Energy conservation
- Shifting to renewable energy
- Introducing carbon-neutral fuels
At the Miyoshi Plant, the electricity generated by ORIX's solar equipment will be consumed on-site. Any surplus solar power will be stored in a battery energy storage system that uses new automotive lithium-ion batteries. Mazda says this allows it to use surplus solar power effectively and to reduce peak electricity demand.
At the Mazda KD Center, ORIX will also install solar power generation equipment as the PPA provider, and Toyo Kohan Co., Ltd., a steel sheet product manufacturer, will utilize the environmental value associated with surplus electricity. Mazda says these efforts will contribute to increased use of renewable energy throughout the region's total supply chain. The company adds that it aims to support the region's sustainable development and industrial competitiveness by working with partners to demonstrate and implement carbon-neutral technologies, drawing on their respective strengths.
- 2.2MW at Mazda KD Center; 0.8MW at Miyoshi Plant and Miyoshi Safety Testing Laboratory 3
- 2.6GWh at Mazda KD Center; 0.9GWh at Miyoshi Plant
- November 2026 at Mazda KD Center; December 2026 at Miyoshi Plant
Mazda KD Center scheduled for completion, with power supply from ORIX's on-site solar installation scheduled to start
Scheduled start of power supply at the Miyoshi Plant and Miyoshi Safety Testing Laboratory 3
Target year for carbon neutrality at Mazda's global manufacturing facilities
Previously from Mazda
Earlier Motorclaw coverage shows Mazda setting mid-2030s targets on more than one front. In October 2026 the company published its Integrated Report 2026, an annual financial and non-financial review that rests on five revised material issues with targets set toward 2035. Separately, Mazda's microalgae biodiesel R&D project was selected for a NEDO program, with the company targeting factory-fill use in all diesel vehicles built in Japan by the early 2030s.
- Mazda releases Integrated Report 2026 and revises its materiality to five issues targeted for 2035
- Mazda's microalgae biodiesel R&D project wins NEDO backing, targets factory-fill diesel fuel by early 2030s
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Mazda's official releases.
Why this matters
The move shows how an automaker can cut plant emissions by partnering with an energy provider and a materials supplier rather than building power assets itself. It touches Mazda's manufacturing sites in Japan, its PPA provider ORIX, steel-sheet maker Toyo Kohan and the wider regional supply chain, which the release says gains from increased renewable energy use.
Terms in This Story
- On-site PPA
- A power purchase agreement in which a power producer installs renewable generation equipment on a customer's premises and supplies the electricity generated there, together with the associated environmental value.
- Battery energy storage system
- A system that stores surplus electricity in batteries so it can be used when electricity demand is high, helping use renewable energy effectively and reduce peak demand.
- Environmental value
- The value of electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar, including the value of reducing CO2 emissions, which can be traded separately from the electricity itself.
- Carbon neutrality
- Reaching a balance in which the greenhouse gases emitted are offset by reductions or removals, so the net contribution to climate change is zero.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.