BUFFALO, W.Va. (AP) — A Toyota manufacturing plant in West Virginia is installing 6 acres of solar panels to reduce its reliance on outside energy, which officials said will be the largest solar array in the state.
The project at the Buffalo plant will produce 2.6 megawatts of solar-generated energy, The Herald-Dispatch reported.
The plant is also adopting energy-saving tools. They include smart building technologies to control lighting, heating and air conditioning, and other systems, senior engineering manager Jacob Plasters said this week. A change to LED lighting already has produced a large reduction in daily energy costs, he said.
Established in 1996, Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia manufactures nearly 1 million engines and transmissions for the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, RAV4 and Lexus ES and RX350. In June, it became the first Toyota facility in North America to begin producing hybrid transaxles, which are built for the Highlander and Sienna.
The $4.9 million solar array is scheduled to be complete by March and expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the plant by 1,822 metric tons annually.
