Honda Motor Co. Ltd. said Sept. 23 that it signed two virtual power purchase agreements that will supply the automaker with more than half the electricity it consumes in North America.
Honda will not receive the electricity directly, but it will receive and retire an equivalent amount of renewable energy certificates, resulting in net zero carbon emissions-equivalent from its vehicle manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Indiana and Ohio.
Beginning in fall 2020, Honda will purchase 530,000 MWh per year from 120 MW of the planned 150-MW Boiling Springs wind farm in Oklahoma. The project is being developed by E.ON North America Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of E.ON SE.
In under the second power purchase agreement, beginning in fall 2021, Honda will obtain 482,000 MWh per year from 200 MW from an unnamed solar facility to be built in Texas.
The two agreements will increase renewable energy's share of Honda's North American electricity supply to more than 80%.
Honda said the virtual power purchase agreement for the wind facility's output will include a price "collar" that each quarter sets an upper and lower limit on the company's exposure to market prices.
Honda aims to cut its global carbon dioxide emissions by 50% from 2000 levels by 2050.
