Alight builds rooftop solar power plant in Paris for Toyota Material Handling

Toyota Material Handling signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alight to provide solar energy to its facility in Bussy-Saint-Georges Paris, France. The rooftop solar power plant is now providing power equivalent to 25 percent of their total annual electricity consumption.

Toyota Material Handling France (TMHFR), global leader in materials handling equipment, has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the solar energy company Alight. Alight develops, owns and manages the rooftop photovoltaic plant at the Bussy-Saint-Georges facility, and TMHFR buys the electricity produced by the plant as part of Toyota Material Handling Europe’s (TMHE) solar roll-out. In 2019, TMHE and Alight joined forces in a strategic solar energy program with rooftop solar power systems to be installed at TMHE production and management facilities across multiple European countries. The first solar site was built in 2020 and is located in TMHE facility in Mjölby, Sweden.

– We are extremely proud to continue our collaboration with Toyota Material Handling. Industrial and commercial rooftops across Europe are largely underutilized areas, despite many being well suited for solar power generation. So it is truly inspirational to see large corporations take action to rapidly build out renewable energy, while at the same time hedging against electricity price volatility – a win-win. says Harald Överholm, CEO of Alight.

– This photovoltaic roof will help us to further reduce our environmental impact and electricity costs, while protecting us against electricity price volatility for the duration of the agreement, says Eric Loustau, General Director of TMHFR. This solar power plant is a concrete example of what we are doing in terms of sustainability, an area in which we have had high ambitions for over 10 years.

Construction of the rooftop solar site started in fall 2022, and was completed and began delivery of clean electricity in December 2022. The long term agreement with Alight will help TMHFR hedge its electricity costs, reduce its environmental impact and protect against volatility in the electricity market. The solar rooftop installation has 790 solar panels with an installed capacity of 300-kilowatt peak power (kWp). It will produce approximately 323 MWh a year.

TMHE has high sustainability ambitions, is a member of the Science Based Target Initiative and certified by EcoVadis. They are also committed to zero emissions across their entire value chain by 2050 and net-zero emissions from their own operations by 2030. Since 2021, TMH has 100% renewable energy. This solar plant helps them further reduce its environmental impact and electricity costs, all while protecting it against electricity price volatility throughout the course of the agreement.

Meredith Popolo
PR Director
meredith.popolo@alight-energy.com

About Alight

At Alight, we’re on a mission to kick carbon off the grid by helping energy-intensive businesses switch to solar. We develop, own and operate onsite and offsite solar projects across Europe and sell the clean energy to businesses at a low, fixed cost backed by a power purchase agreement (PPA), always independent of government funding or subsidies. By 2030, we aim to have an installed capacity of at least 5 GW, paving the way for a more sustainable future.