Yamaha Motor Corporation will install solar arrays at the company’s Southeastern Headquarters in Kennesaw, Ga. and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMC) in Newnan, Ga. this summer. The initiative supports Yamaha’s goal to reduce emissions produced as a direct result of business activities and achieve carbon neutrality within its manufacturing operations and facilities by 2035. Yamaha expects conclusion of the solar installations by the end of 2024.
Yamaha will work with VeloSolar in Atlanta, Ga., for the installation of the solar array panels. With more than a decade of experience designing, installing and maintaining commercial solar installations, VeloSolar is one of Georgia’s largest solar installation companies.
“The installation of these solar panels represents a substantial step forward in Yamaha’s quest to substantially reduce carbon emissions. We anticipate the solar array in Kennesaw will supply about 60 percent of the facilities’ electricity needs. At the Newnan facility we anticipate avoiding roughly 13,600 tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the array – that’s equivalent to eliminating approximately 14,930,000 pounds of coal emissions. These panels are in addition to the already existing solar arrays at YMMC,” said Mike Chrzanowski, President and CEO, Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA. “These projects are only a part of Yamaha’s plan to decarbonize operations globally, and the company will continue to identify more emission-reducing opportunities as we move toward 2035.”
The solar projects in Georgia also align with Yamaha’s participation in the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact. A statewide initiative facilitated by the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact is a business-focused collaborative initiative focused on galvanizing climate action in Georgia.