DMG Mori installs Japan’s largest private solar array

The first batch of solar panels installed at DMG Mori’s largest machine tool factory, located in Iga, Japan, has been generating 5,400kW of power since 1 February 2023. The project took six months to complete and the initial panels will produce six million kWh per year, enough for about 13% of the annual power demand at the Iga plant.

Installation of a second batch of panels will be completed this year and start providing a further 5,200kW from February 2024. A third batch will start operation by December of next year, generating an additional 2,800kW, by which time 130,000m² of the rooftops will be covered. The total output of 13.4MW will satisfy 30% of the factory's annual demand and make the installation the largest such power generation system for private commercial use ever built in Japan.

Provided by Osaka-based TESS Engineering, the solar power generation facility is an example of an on-site PPA system. All the electricity will be consumed at the Iga machine tool production plant, eventually reducing the site’s CO₂ emissions by approximately 5,300 tonnes per year.

Apart from being environmentally friendly, the installation will provide a stable, long-term power source and help to protect DMG Mori from market fluctuations and fuel supply problems, thereby strengthening its business resilience.

The company is making numerous efforts towards achieving a carbon-neutral, recycling-oriented and sustainable operation. The group is already using renewable electrical energy at all its sites in Japan and since May 2022, a new biomass plant has been in operation at Iga that uses wood chips as fuel for carbon-neutral power generation. Another solar power system has been in operation at DMG Mori’s US plant in Davis, California since November 2022 and from February 2025, the Nara factory in Japan will also begin generating electricity from solar panels.

Furthermore, the group offsets CO₂ emissions that it cannot reduce by investing in internationally recognised, sustainable climate protection projects. Since 2021, DMG Mori’s entire manufacturing processes, from parts procurement to product shipment, have been carbon-neutral.

Today, all DMG Mori machines worldwide are shipped carrying a ‘GREENMACHINE logo’. The company will continue to expand the use of renewable energy to accelerate the reduction of CO₂ emissions and contribute to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society.