Toyota Boshoku America Powers Manufacturing Plant With Cost-Cutting Onsite Solar

Onyx Renewables energized a 5.7-megawatt (MW) onsite solar array serving the Illinois manufacturing plant of Toyota Boshoku America (TBA) in May 2025. Over the course of a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA), this distributed generation system will fulfill 85% of the electricity needs at Toyota Boshoku Illinois (TBIL) with clean, affordable, and reliable energy produced onsite.

TBA, part of a premier global manufacturer of automotive interior systems, began seeking clean energy solutions to contribute to their goal to become carbon neutral. The company soon realized that along with their sustainability goals, cost savings could also be achieved at no upfront cost.

The TBA project is a testament to renewable energy industry collaboration: Onyx partner Sol Systems originated the project and began development in 2023. Onyx then acquired the project in 2024, continuing its development and securing a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with TBA. During construction, Onyx collaborated with Nelnet Renewable Energy as its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner.

To complete the onsite solar installation, TBA purchased a 64-acre plot of land adjacent to its manufacturing plant. The area qualifies as an “energy community," a legal designation that provides additional tax benefits for the project. Onyx worked with federal, state, and local jurisdictions to ensure the project met all necessary permitting and regulatory requirements. The solar energy system is designed to accommodate natural features on the property, including a stream and a high-grade incline, preserving as much of the landscape as possible.

“The onsite solar project at our Toyota Boshoku Illinois facility has contributed significantly to our goal to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. In addition to providing reliable clean energy, it has also allowed us to have a much higher degree of predictability in our energy costs going forward.

"Thanks to our partnership with Onyx Renewables, we were able to complete this project without the significant upfront infrastructure costs of solar panels. Onyx has been an exceptional partner throughout this process, and we’re pleased to continue working with them for years to come."
— Ryan Hunt, Vice President Production Control, Toyota Boshoku America

During construction, Onyx and Nelnet worked to make TBA’s solar installation not only beneficial to the company but the professional development of the local workforce via apprenticeship programs and prevailing wage labor. At least 15% of the project’s labor was reserved for qualified apprentices, helping to train the next generation of solar energy installers, and the project paid prevailing wages in accordance with federal incentives.

Environmental protection was also an important factor for TBA. To this end, Onyx is working to plant pollinator-friendly habitats surrounding the solar array in accordance with the pollinator habitat guidelines outlined in the Solar Site Pollinator Scorecard published by Illinois’ Department of Natural Resources. Onyx has also posted a decommissioning bond to the local county, ensuring that the land where the solar installation sits will be returned to its original state when the project ends.

The project’s completion marks TBA’s largest onsite solar installation to date, a milestone for the company, and an example of clean energy solutions addressing the urgent needs of commercial businesses.