Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Huntsville is looking to the sun for its electricity.

Toyota Alabama, Toyota Tsusho America Inc. and Huntsville Utilities announced a power purchase agreement Wednesday to support a 168-acre, $49 million solar project.

Related: Toyota engine plant in Huntsville marks launch of $288 million expansion

The 30-megawatt solar-generated system will surround the engine plant in the North Huntsville Industrial Park and is expected to produce 62,000 megawatt hours annually, which will reduce about 22,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to the announcement by Toyota.

The project is part of Toyota’s objective of achieving carbon neutrality in its operations by 2035.

“Toyota is taking a transparent, science-based approach to address climate change,” Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama, said in the announcement. “By relying on the sun to power our operations, we will reduce our carbon footprint and create a model of environmental stewardship in north Alabama.”

The engine plant’s neighbor in the industrial park, Meta Data Center, has said it is 100 percent reliant on renewable energy.

Toyota Tsusho will be the owner of the solar project that will provide more than 70 percent of the engine plant’s power. Tsusho’s energy infrastructure solutions team led the development of the project and will manage the construction, which is scheduled to begin in the spring.

“Finding smart, creative solutions to climate change is an urgent and global focus for our company,” Naoyuki Hata, TAI president and CEO, said in the announcement. “Using our know-how to bring projects like this to life aligns with our goal of creating positive impacts in local communities, while also helping create pathways to a sustainable future globally.”

Since Toyota Alabama started production in 2003, the plant has expanded six times. It represents a $1.5 billion investment and has about 1,900 employees. Last year, the plant produced more than 665,000 engines and hybrid engines for vehicles such as the Tundra, Corolla Cross and Sienna.

The Corolla Cross, of course, is manufactured at the Mazda Toyota plant in Huntsville.

This story will be updated.