America’s Western Digital piloting green energy at Thai plant

Two American firms are joining forces with Thai regulators to achieve green manufacturing in the Kingdom, as Thailand strives to meet its climate commitments and decarbonize its industrial sector.

Western Digital, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hard drives and data storage technologies, said last week that it will partner with Indiana’s solar panel firm INNOPOWER and Thailand’s Energy Regulatory Commission to pilot the use of renewable energy at its production plant in Thailand under a special green tariff initiative.

The Kingdom is the second-biggest exporter of hard drives in the world and accounts for 40 percent of all hard-drive exports. While Thailand is focusing on higher-technology industries, it is also seriously pursuing greener more sustainable development.

One way in which the Kingdom is advancing that goal is through a utility green tariff, which is being trialed in a sandbox by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Utility green tariffs are programs offered by utilities and approved by state public utility commissions. They allow larger commercial and industrial customers to buy bundled renewable electricity from a specific project through a special utility tariff rate.

“This is an important milestone for Western Digital in our sustainability journey where we have set an ambitious aim to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Philip Bernard, Senior Vice President of Western Digital Storage Technologies (Thailand).

He also said that the company’s target is to reduce emissions by 42 percent from 2020 to 2030 and to reduce the use-phase emissions intensity of its products by 50 percent by 2023.

Photo courtesy of https://www.egat.co.th/home/en/20230512e/