HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it will provide electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind power, solar power, and biomass, for two all-star games organized by the Nippon Professional Baseball Association in Japan. These ‘green powered’ Mazda all-star 2008 games will be played at the Kyocera Dome Osaka on July 31 and at Yokohama Stadium on August 1, 2008.

Eco-friendly ‘green electricity’ will be made available for the games under the “Green Power Certification System.” Mazda will provide the electricity to illuminate the nighttime all-star 2008 games indirectly, by purchasing a “Green Power Certificate” for 12,000 kilowatt hours and presenting it to the Nippon Professional Baseball Association (NPB). Using green power for the games is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 6.6 metric tons.

Yuji Harada, managing executive officer in charge of Mazda’s corporate communications and environmental issues, says, “Mazda is an automaker committed to the pursuit of harmony between driving pleasure and environmental and safety performance. It’s why we are enthusiastically backing the environmental aspect of the Mazda all-star games. We decided to present the NPB with a Green Power Certificate in support of the ‘NPB2008 Green Baseball Project’ because it involves Japan’s 12 professional baseball teams and aims to help prevent global warming.”

Mazda recently announced plans to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles by 30 percent before 2015, compared to 2008 levels, as part of its eco-friendly contributions toward a sustainable society. Additionally, the Hiroshima-based company began commercial leasing of the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE, which runs on hydrogen fuel and emits no CO2, in 2006. Mazda also recently began public road trials of the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, which achieves double the hydrogen fuel range of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE by mating a hydrogen rotary engine to a highly efficient hybrid system. Commercial leasing of the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to governmental authorities in Japan is scheduled to commence during fiscal year 2008.