A solar array with a 9.95MWp total capacity has been fitted to the roof of Thai Bridgestone’s (TBSC) Nong Khae plant, in the Saraburi province of Thailand.
The rooftop solar panels will be used to directly power tire manufacturing processes at the plant and are estimated to lead to a 97,500-ton reduction in total CO2 emissions during the next 15 years.
The solar array is the largest of its kind in the Bridgestone Group and will help the company achieve its vision of becoming a sustainable solutions business by 2050, in addition to reinforcing the importance of a tire production base in the country.
An opening ceremony to mark the success of the solar installation was held on December 16, 2022, with several Bridgestone Group executives in attendance, including Masahiro Higashi, the joint global COO of the Bridgestone Corporation and Yasuhiro Morita, COO of Bridgestone China and Asia-Pacific.
TBSC’s 660,000m2 Nong Khae plant can produce 202 tons of tires for passenger cars, pickup trucks and light trucks each day. The rooftop solar panel installation will help drive sustainable growth within Bridgestone’s business operations.
“With Bridgestone’s environmental mission and to contribute to sustainable development in Thailand, Bridgestone Thailand has adopted environmental initiatives and projects to use renewable energy, especially in our tire production,” explained Keiji Chuma, managing director of TBSC. “This year, TBSC has marked a significant milestone by collaborating with Impact Solar Group (Thailand) to install a large-scale 9.95MWp capacity solar rooftop [array] at the Nong Khae plant.”
