The enormous 242,000 square foot array - which could cover over four football fields - will be the largest single-roof solar power system in North America.

The 2.3 megawatt installation will include 10,417 solar modules which will generate over 3.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. That's a lot!

According to Toyota, their plant uses nearly 6 million kilowatt-hours of power on every year. So going by those figures, the new solar energy system should account for 60% of the total energy requirements.

Toyota admits that its electricity costs have nearly tripled in the last 15 years, so a solar power system will considerably offset the company’s need to purchase electricity.

Considering motor vehicles are a big contributor to carbon emissions, this is a great move by Toyota to show their green credentials. But this isn't the first time they have done this.

In 2003, Toyota built a 53,000 square foot solar photovoltaic solar power system on its HQ in Torrance, California.

Toyota’s proactive efforts to use solar energy systems and to develop solar technologies for its vehicles are part of the company’s groundbreaking Earth Charter.

Toyota's Earth Charter encourages renewable solutions into all aspects of its design, manufacturing, business, and sales operations. It is aiming to reduce its total energy usage in its manufacturing processes by 27%.

The solar power system in Ontario, CA should push them toward their targets. In a press release issued by the company, the 2.3 megawatt system will avoid 6.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This will be the equivalent of the energy use of 255 homes in a year.

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