Honda to invest in wind power generation in Brazil

Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda (HAB), the Honda automobile production and sales subsidiary in Brazil, on Thursday announced plans to invest in wind power generation to be more proactive in using renewable energy to minimize the environmental footprint of its business activities. HAB will be the first automobile manufacturer in Brazil to invest in wind power generation.

With a goal to begin the operation in September 2014, Honda will build a wind farm in the city of Xangri-la in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil (approximately 1,000 km south of HAB's automobile production plant in Sumare, Sao Paulo). Equipped with nine wind power turbine units, the wind farm is expected to generate approximately 85,000 MW of electricity per year, equivalent to HAB's annual electricity needs for automobile production. The total investment in this wind farm is expected to be approximately 100 million Brazilian reais (approximately 4.6 billion yen).

In order to evolve wind power generation business in Brazil, HAB established a new subsidiary, Honda Energy do Brasil Ltda., specialized in wind power generation business. Honda Energy do Brasil Ltda will be responsible for the management and operation of all areas related to Honda's wind power generation business in Brazil.

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