Displaying items by tag: Solar power

Pakistan: Bestway Cement has ignited the kiln of Line 1 of its Mianwali cement plant in Punjab. The line has a capacity of 2.3Mt/yr. The Pakistan Observer newspaper has reported that it increases the producer's cement capacity by 18% to 15.3Mt/yr and brings its total number of production lines to eight. The Mianwali cement plant is equipped with a 20MW solar power plant and will run on 50% renewable energy. It also has a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant, an air cooled condenser (ACC) system and a rainwater harvesting system.

Bestway Cement CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey said "It's a great day for the company. Our new greenfield production line at Mianwali has been set up in a record time, despite various hurdles and supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19."

China: Anhui Conch’s sales fell by 21% year-on-year to US$19.2bn in 2022 from US$24.4bn in 2021. Its net profit dropped by 52% to US$2.31bn from US$4.84bn. Sales volumes of cement and clinker decreased by 24% to 310Mt. It blamed the situation on weakening market demand and high energy costs.

New projects that started operation in 2022 included a capacity replacement scheme at its Anhui Chizhou Conch Cement subsidiary and two new clinker production lines at the Qarshi project in Uzbekistan. The group also completed its acquisition of Chongqing Duoji Renewable Resources, Naimanqi Hongji Cement and Chifeng Hahe Cement. By the end of 2022 its cement and concrete production capacities rose by 1% to 269Mt and 73% to 25.5Mm³. Its solar power capacity also more than doubled to 475MW.

Poland: Lafarge Polska has signed a 10-year power supply agreement with Germany-based energy provider RWE Supply & Trading. Under the contract, Lafarge Polska will receive renewable energy from Windfarm Polska III on the coast at Sztum, Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is owned by German state-owned Stadtwerke München (SWM).

Renewables Now News has reported that Lafarge Polska is currently building a 41MW solar power plant at the site of its former Wierzbica cement plant in Masovian Voivodeship. This will cover a further 10% of its energy consumption.

US: Holcim US has appointed TotalEnergies to install, maintain and operate a 33MW solar power plant and 38.5MWh battery system at its Florence, Colorado cement plant. By storing energy with the battery system, the plant can relieve demand on the grid at peak times. Holcim will receive roughly 71,000MWh/yr of renewable energy under a minimum 15-year power purchase and storage services agreement (PPSSA). The partners expect the new systems to reduce the plant's CO₂ emissions by 40,000t/yr and its energy consumption by 40%.

Holcim North America’s vice president for procurement Atl Martinez said "As we work to accelerate green growth across the US, it's critical that we come to the table with partners who share similar goals around circularity and renewable energy. This initiative with TotalEnergies demonstrates an ongoing determination to transform our operations and lower our carbon footprint. It's a milestone investment that will decrease our reliance on other sources of energy and shrink our utility costs through a powerful combination of clean energy and efficient operations."

US: Buzzi Unicem subsidiary Alamo Cement Company has successfully commissioned its new 17,800MWh solar power plant at its San Antonio cement plant in Texas. The producer says that the facility will eliminate 8000t/yr-worth of CO₂ emissions from the plant's operations. It spans an area of 18.2 hectares at the site of the 1.1Mt/yr cement plant. Texas-based energy provider CPS Energy built the installation.

Alamo Cement's director of engineering and construction management William Kovacs said "I am incredibly proud of the multi-discipline work that went into this first-of-its-kind project for Alamo Cement in San Antonio. It is an example of the type of collaboration necessary to continue to unlock and apply new energy sources for cement producers. It was a collective effort that brought together our corporate team, CPS Energy and regional engineering firms and contractors."

US: Alamo Cement has completed a new solar power unit that supports its integrated cement plant in San Antonio, Texas. The unit has a capacity of 17,800MWhr and is situated on an 18 hectare site. It is expected to generate up to 15% of the plant’s annual power consumption and reduce electricity costs.

Europe: Cemex’s annual CO₂ emissions from its European operations fell by 41% in 2022 compared to 1990. It added that it had cut its emissions in the region by 12% between 2020 and 2022. The group attributed the decline to the success of its climate action strategy to date, including a large investment in a new alternative fuels facility in the UK, investments in solar power plants in Germany and Poland and the roll-out of its Vertua reduced-CO₂ products across the region.

Regional president Sergio Menendez said "As we begin to implement the next stages in our climate action strategy, we now expect to exceed our 2030 aspiration of hitting a 55% CO₂ reduction in our European operations. While we are progressing important carbon capture projects and policy advocacy for our ultimate net zero target, these 2030 interim aspirations are not reliant on this technology.” he continued, “This is certainly a challenging target, but I am confident that with innovative thinking, close collaboration between our different business areas and further development of our regulatory framework, it is both feasible and profitable. This sustained effort is vital if we are to meet our global, primary objective of becoming a net-zero CO₂ company by 2050. We will continue to provide regular updates on our progress.”

South/Central America: Holcim Latinoamérica says that it expects to use 18% renewable power across its operations in February 2023, compared to 8% throughout 2022. The regional unit of Holcim says that it will increase its share of renewable power to 25% by the end of 2023. It is committed to a target of 60% renewables by 2030. Holcim Latinoamérica's operations span Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Mexico.

Earlier in February 2023, Holcim Nicaragua commenced construction of a 3.38MW solar power plant in Nagarote, León Department. The producer said that the solar power plant's contribution to the national grid will cover 40% of its consumption in its cement operations there.

Holcim's Latin America regional head Oliver Osswald said “Our world is in constant change from population growth, urbanisation and the climate challenge. That is why, at Holcim, we are determined to put our best foot forward to accelerate low carbon circular construction."

India: Amplus Solar has secured a contract with JK Lakshmi Cement for construction of a 56MW solar power plant at the producer’s 1.7Mt/yr Durg cement plant in Chhattisgarh. The producer expects to eliminate 73,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions as a result.

JK Lakshmi Cement’s president Arun Shukla said "We support the country's vision to achieve net zero emissions by 2070. We have taken multiple steps to reduce both direct and indirect carbon emissions. Last month, for the first time in India, we deployed liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks to transport raw material. Now, with the switch to solar energy at our Durg plant, nearly 80% of the plant’s energy requirements will be met renewably.”

Amplus Energy previously partnered with UltraTech Cement for a 50MW solar installation at one of its cement plants in 2019.

Austria: Lafarge Zement has successfully demolished the chimney of a former gas power plant at its Mannersdorf cement plant in Lower Austria. Hans Zöchling GmbH carried out the demolition work. Lafarge Zement plans to use the cleared space for a new solar power plant. Plant manager Helmut Reiterer said that further renewable power projects are also planned at the site.