Displaying items by tag: Solar power

India: Udaipur Cement Works has increased its solar power generation capacity by 43% through the installation of a new 4.35MW solar power plant at its Udaipur cement plant in Rajasthan. The 1.4Mt/yr cement plant now has a total solar power capacity of 14.5MW. Udaipur Cement Works says that solar power generated at the plant will reduce it operations’ CO₂ footprint by 14,000t/yr.

Philippines: Singapore-based Blueleaf Energy says that it has secured a 20-year solar power supply with Holcim Philippines. The companies have signed a power purchase agreement whereby Blueleaf Energy will finance, build and operate a total of 29MW of solar power infrastructure in Norzagaray, Bulacan, and Bacnotan, La Union. These will supply 15% of the energy requirements of Holcim Philippines’ Bulacan and La Union cement plants respectively. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2024.

Holcim Philippines president and CEO Horia Adrian said “Reducing the carbon footprint of our operations is one of our key sustainability commitments. This year, we have made great progress in this area by stepping up production of blended cements and replacing coal with alternative fuels. Shifting to renewable solar energy will help us further improve as an environment steward and a partner in building progress in the country sustainably.”

Uganda: Security provider G4S has installed solar powered laser security systems for Hima Cement at one of its plants and several mines. The system was commissioned in March 2021 and it uses chargeable solar cells in perimeter security towers. G4S says that the system will improve sustainability and reduce costs compared to conventional alternatives. Where sensors detect a breach, security guards will investigate using electric bikes. The supplier says that the bikes facilitate more covert operations compared to motor vehicles, in addition to having sustainability benefits.

Head of technology Samuel Tebandeke said “We wanted to challenge ourselves to think of a better solution for our customer. We knew that we wanted to introduce electronic perimeter security to enhance the protection for the three mines and the cement plant we protect. Other providers were proposing laying many kilometres of cabling underground to provide power for their electronic perimeter monitoring, but our team decided to investigate a greener solution.”

Brazil: Votorantim Energia and Canada-based CPP Investments have announced the consolidation of their Brazilian energy assets in a new jointly owned renewable energy platform called VTRM. The new company's assets will reach 3.3GW in capacity by October 2022, consisting of 2.3GW in hydroelectric power and 1.0GW in wind power. Its planned projects, including hydroelectric, solar and hybrid power plants, will increase its capacity by 58% to 5.2GW.Its existing assets sold 2.6GW of electricity in 2020. The partners said that the new company will also be well-positioned for future growth, including the acquisition of operational assets and those in planning or under construction. CPP Investment will inject and additional US$269m into the venture following the conclusion of the deal.

As part of the restructuring, Votorantim Energia will cease to manage Votorantim's cement subsidiary Votorantim Cimentos' dedicated energy assets. The cement producer will then incorporate these into its own operations. This will enable Votorantim Energia to focus on energy generation for sale.

Group president João Schmidt said that the consolidation reflects the major role that energy business will play in the company's future. He said "Globally, there is a growing urgency around renewable energy and the energy transition. Alongside a partner like CPP Investments, which has shared our long-term views on energy since 2017, we are ready to accelerate our role in the sector." He added "Through the assets consolidation into a single platform, Votorantim and CPP Investments will share in a new cycle of growth and value generation together."

Poland: Cemex Poland has established a new 50kW solar power plant at its Pruszków ready-mix concrete production plant in Masovian Voivodeship. The company says that it is planning other investments to retrofit renewable energy systems into its operations across Poland.

Materials director Michał Grys said “Cemex is actively addressing the climate challenge by decarbonising our processes. The key to realising our ambitious goals is finding and implementing new low-emission products as well as more sustainable technologies and construction solutions.” He added “Photovoltaic farms are another investment by Cemex Poland in renewable energy sources. Currently, much of the electricity used in our aggregate quarries, cement plants and many concrete plants comes from renewable sources."

Portugal: Cimpor has announced plans for the establishment of 1MW solar power plants at each of its three cement plants in Portugal. The Dinheiro Vivo newspaper has reported that the measure comes under a planned Euro130m investment package in upgrades to its cement operations before 2030. The plans include the expansion of the solar power plants to a total capacity of 10MW by 2025. Additionally, the producer will install two waste heat recovery (WHR) plants with a combined capacity of 8MW at its Alhandra and Souselas cement plants. The company is aiming to reduce its indirect CO₂ emissions by 30%. It also has an alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate target of 70% by 2030 - compared to 3% in 2020, when it used 150,000t of AF.

Cimpor has previously invested a total of Euro7.2m in dedicated sustainability-related measures.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement plans to build 87.5MWh and 250MWh large-scale energy storage units at its integrated Suao and Hualien plants respectively. Once complete it will become the largest energy storage field in the country. The company will also install a 4MW solar plant at Hualien.

India: Udaipur Cement Work plans to increase its reliance on renewable power with the installation of a new 4.15MW solar power plant at its cement plant in Udaipur, Rajasthan. When operational, the installation will increase the Udaipur plant’s solar power capacity by 42% to 14.3MW. The producer says that its entire solar power apparatus will facilitate a reduction in CO2 emissions of 14,000t/yr. In the 2020 and 2021 financial years, the producer consumed 13,000MWh of solar power, reducing CO2 emissions by 10,000t.

India: Shree Cement has given details of its US$67.8m solar power plant project plans. Projects Tiger News has reported that the producer intends to install 106MW-worth of solar power capacity across several Indian cement plants before October 2022. The company expressed its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and fossil fuel dependence.

India: Shree Cement is planning to launch three projects with a total value of US$646m. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that US$476m-worth of the sum will go towards establishing a new 3.8Mt/yr integrated cement plant at Nawalgarh in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district. The producer will invest a further US$102m in establishing a grinding plant in Purulia district, West Bengal, to take advantage of ‘favourable’ demand. Lastly, it will invest US$68m in installing solar power plants at ‘various’ cement plants across India.

Shree Cement said “The company has committed to maximising the use of clean energy in its operations. Setting up of the above solar power plants will enhance the proportion of clean energy usage in the total energy consumption of the company.”