Nexen Tire accelerates shift to renewable energy at Korean plants

Nexen Tire is moving to increase renewable energy use at its Korean factories, signing a direct power purchase agreement and expanding solar generation as global automakers press suppliers to cut emissions. The tire maker said Monday that it signed a renewable energy direct power purchase agreement with SK Innovation E&S, allowing it to buy electricity directly from a renewable energy supplier. Beginning in November, the Yangsan plant in South Gyeongsang Province will receive about 4 megawatts of renewable power from a mix of onshore wind and solar energy. The arrangement is expected to generate about 6 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to supply roughly 1,600 three-person households for a year, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 2,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Nexen Tire also plans to expand solar power generation at its Changnyeong plant in South Gyeongsang Province, gradually replacing rooftop facilities operated under leases with systems it owns and operates. The Changnyeong plant is expected to have more than 10 megawatts of solar capacity by 2