Displaying items by tag: Solar power

Pakistan/UAE: China-based renewables supplier LONGi Green Energy Technology has awarded Bestway Cement its Carbon Neutralisation Pioneer award at a ceremony in Dubai, UAE. The award acknowledges progress in industrial sustainability during the past year. Bestway Cement is the first Pakistani recipient of the prize.

Bestway Cement operates 62MW-worth of solar power capacity at installations at its Chakwal, Farooqia, Hattar and Kallar Kahar cement plants. Managing director Irfan Sheikh said that this setup enables it to minimise CO₂ emissions and the company's reliance on the national grid. Bestway Cement was also the first Pakistani cement producer to install waste heat recovery (WHR) plants across all of its integrated cement plants.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) is among buyers which will receive a supply of renewable energy from Sunsure Energy's new 74MW Tirunelveli open access solar power plant in Tamil Nadu. Press Trust of India News has reported that the solar power provider built the plant in three phases, with the first commencing in January 2022.

Project head Tarunveer Singh said "This is our largest single-site installation and one of the largest open access projects in the renewable energy-rich state of Tamil Nadu. Credit goes to our on-site team for completing this project in time, despite execution challenges posed by the weather and the daunting supply chain constraints plaguing the solar sector."

Sunsure Energy commands 250MW of solar power across 16 Indian states.

Egypt: Arabian Cement Company (ACC) has signed an amendment to its 2019 contract with Amarenco SolarizEgypt (ASE) to establish a solar photovoltaic (PV) unit at its Suez plant. The amendment to the agreement aligns with updated regulations recently issued by the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA) to encourage and support self-built solar energy projects as Egypt hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh.

ACC already generates 20.6MW of power from a solar PV plant, representing 3% of its total power needs and saving 5500t/yr of CO₂. Construction of a second site, capable of saving 13,000t/yr of CO₂, will now begin in early 2023. The actual commissioning and start-up of operations is expected in September 2023.

“As part of our sustainable development strategy, we are continually assessing opportunities to develop Egypt’s cement industry with projects that integrate sustainable and environment-friendly solutions and renewable energy resources given their significant environmental, social impact and on the economy at large,” said Sergio Alcantarilla, the chief executive officer of ACC.

Egypt: Suez Cement has partnered with Intro Power and Utilities for the construction of a 20MW solar power plant at its Suez cement plant. From its commissioning in early-mid-2023, the installation will provide the plant with 45GWh of energy annually, 20% of its annual consumption. Suez Cement says that this will eliminate 22,000t/yr-worth of CO₂ emissions. Construction is expected to cost US$350m and commence in 2023.

Suez cement aims to achieve specific CO₂ emissions of 400kg/t of cementitious product by 2030, down by 47% from 1990 levels.

Managing director Mohamed Hegazy said “Through transitioning to renewable solar energy, we are looking at long-term economic benefits, laying the foundation for a low-carbon business and energy security, without jeopardising the health of our environment. We are proud about this new milestone and to be one of the few cement players in Egypt taking this step towards using a more affordable and cleaner energy."

Pakistan: Bestway Cement has ignited the 7200t/day kiln at its new Mianwali integrated cement plant in Punjab Province. The plant has 20MW of dedicated solar power capacity and 9MW of waste heat recovery (WHR) power capacity.

El Salvador: Holcim El Salvador plans to invest up to US$50m over the next three years to help it generate 70% of the energy it uses. It plans to build a 17MW solar plant and a wind farm to enable this, according to La Prensa Gráfica newspaper. The investment will also help the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim to progress towards its net-zero sustainability goals. The solar project has a budget of US$19m and will be built in agreement with AES Corporation. It will be located at Holcim’s integrated El Ronco cement plant. It will supply 21% of the energy used at both the El Ronco and Maya cement plants.

The investment has also included the installation of a solid waste shredder earlier in 2022. Its official inauguration is planned for mid-November 2022. Holcim El Salvador reached a 30% alternative fuels substitution rate in October 2022.

India: Adani Group and Jaiprakash Associates are reportedly in 'advanced talks' over the latter becoming Adani Group's latest cement sector acquisition at a price of US$606m. Reuters News has reported that Jaiprakash Associates' board of directors approved the sale of the company on 10 October 2022. Adani Group plans to buy the business via one of its newly acquired cement subsidiaries.

Adani Group is also planning a US$7.9bn investment package in a Rajasthan cement plant expansion, solar power plant project and airport upgrade. The solar power plant has a planned capacity of 10GW. Adani Group owns the 1.8Mt/yr Rabriyawas cement plant and the 5Mt/yr Lakheri cement plant in Rajasthan. The group plans to raise US$10bn to fund its growth plans. Potential investors in 'early talks' with the group include Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Adani Group completed its acquisition of ACC and Ambuja Cements for US$10.5bn in September 2022.

US: Heliogen is among recipients of a total US$24m in US Department of Energy funding for solar thermal power projects. The department granted it US$4.1m-worth of funding for a project in which it will calcine limestone at 950°C using the heat of the Sun. Heliogen hopes to apply the methods it is developing to prevent the direct emissions of cement production.

India: Gensol has commissioned a 6.7MW captive solar power plant for Shree Cement’s Panipat plant in Haryana. The project is estimated to save over 9000t/yr of CO2 emissions. The cement producer acquired the 1.5Mt/yr cement grinding plant in 2015.

India: Birla Corporation plans to increase its cement production capacity to 30Mt/yr in 2030 from 20Mt/yr at present. It made the proclamation in its annual report for the 2021 – 2022 financial year. Recent developments include the inauguration of its 3.9Mt/yr integrated plant at Mukutban in Maharashtra, run under its RCCPL subsidiary. It is the group’s fourth integrated plant and is reportedly the largest single cement production line in the state. The unit also includes a 40MW captive power plant.

Other developments include plans to expand the capacity of its Kundanganj grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh to 3Mt/yr from 2Mt/yr and a plan to build a new 1.2Mt/yr grinding plant at Gaya in Bihar. The group is also increasing production from its captive coal mines. Output from the Sial Ghoghri coal mine has been increased by 20% above its rated capacity to 30,000t/month. Development of the Bikram coal mine has been advanced and production is expected to start in mid-2023. Finally, the group is adding 8MW of solar power capacity at its Chanderia, Satna and Kundanganj plants in the current financial year and a 10.6MW waste heat recovery (WHR) unit is planned for the Mukutban plant.