Displaying items by tag: Wind

Morocco: Holcim subsidiary LafargeHolcim Maroc has released information about its 1.6Mt/yr Agadir cement plant in Souss-Massa Region. The producer invested US$299m in the plant’s construction and it has been operational since late 2021. The plant is highly automated in line with Holcim’s Plants of Tomorrow strategy. It will run off wind power from 2023, and also uses alternative fuel (AF). 200 people work at the plant.

In conjunction with its work in setting up the new cement plant, LafargeHolcim Maroc developed drinking water networks in the surrounding area, including the construction of three solar-powered water towers.

India: Shree Digvijay Cement has executed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 27% stake in a hybrid wind and solar power project from Trinethra Renewable Energy, a power producer, and Continuum Green Energy. It will spend US$1m on the deal, implying a value of US$0.13m/MW. The total installed capacity of the project is 8.1MW.

The hybrid power contract will generate about 37% of total power needed by the plant. When combined with the plant’s waste heat recovery (WHR) system, it will constitute over 65% of the total power needs of the company, representing considerable savings in the cost of power and an improved environment footprint.

Germany: Mexico-based Cemex has joined a consortium with Sasol EcoFT and Enertrag that plans to use CO₂ and hydrogen to produce aviation fuel. The project is part of Cemex’s Future in Action program and is part of its plan to develop a carbon neutral operation at its Rüdersdorf cement plant by 2030. The consortium will source green hydrogen generated from wind and solar energy from Enertrag. The CO₂ will come from the Rüdersdorf cement plant, which will provide 100t/day CO₂ in the project’s initial stages. Sasol will then contribute its technology to produce e-kerosene, which, once certified, can be blended to constitute up to 50% of jet fuel.

The Rüdersdorf carbon neutral alliance includes over 20 start-ups, universities, companies from other industries and authorities working to develop industrial-scale solutions achieve the first carbon-neutral cement plant in the world.

Enertrag is a renewable-energy company based in Brandenburg. It operates utility-scale integrated energy plants in 10 countries. Its plants produce electricity and green hydrogen from wind and solar sources.

Sasol EcoFT is part of Sasol Group. It uses its technology to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals from green hydrogen and sustainable carbon sources, via the Power-to-Liquids process.

Canada: TransAlta Corporation has secured a contract to supply 100Gwh/yr of wind power to Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw, Alberta. The power will cover an estimated 25% of the plant’s electricity needs.

Lafarge Western Canada’s head of sustainability and environment Cailee Ellis said “This agreement, first of its kind for Lafarge in Alberta, is an important step to utilising higher amounts of renewable electricity at our facilities.”

Germany: Opterra has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Statkraft for the supply of electricity from onshore wind farms. The renewable energy producer will supply around 30GWh to the subsidiary of CRH’s integrated cement plants at Karsdorf in Saxony-Anhalt, Wössingen in Baden-Württemberg and a grinding plant at Sötenich in North Rhine-Westphalia between 2022 and 2025. The wind power will be generated at four wind farms.

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."

Switzerland/US: LafargeHolcim and GE Renewable Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to research new ways to recycle of used wind turbines. The partners are seeking to use the shredded blades to produce low-CO₂ building materials. LafargeHolcim said that undertaking builds on the work of its subsidiary Geocycle, which previously began using GE’s waste wind turbine blades to produce alternative fuel (AF) for cement production. The cement producer called recycling the ‘key next step’ in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan of the European Union’s European Green Deal.

Germany: Holcim Deutschland has signed a contract supplying its Lägerdorf and Höver integrated cement plants with 30,000MWh of offshore wind power. The electricity will be supplied by Ane Energy from a number of wind farms.

India: Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement said that it will spend US$200m in capital expenditure (CAPEX) during the 2021 financial year, which ends on 31 March 2021. The plans consist of a capacity expansion to 118Mt/yr from 115Mt/yr, including the completion of the 4.0Mt/yr Bara grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh and 1.2Mt/yr-worth of brownfield projects in Bihar and West Bengal. Solar and wind power capacity will increase to 350MW from 95MW, while waste heat recovery (WHR) capacity will increase to 185MW from 118MW.

Chair Kumar Birla said, “While 2021 will be a challenging year, Birla remains confident that the economy will revert to the 6 - 8% growth trajectory in 2022.”

Honduras: Cementos Argos subsidiary Argos Honduras has announced the launch of ECO Multipurpose, a 40% reduced-CO₂ general use cement produced with energy from the company’s 8.5MW solar power plant at its 1.0Mt/yr integrated Piedras Azules cement plant in Comayagua, Comayagua Department. The product is “the first environmentally-friendly cement in Honduras,” according to the cement producer.

General director Gustavo Uribe said, “With this project we are leading the industry in the country and sowing the seeds of the future for construction in Honduras, which will gradually evolve towards the adoption of the global trend of sustainable construction. At Argos, we continually work on creating products and developing projects with a positive impact on the environment and society. As a company, we assume a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, prioritising climate change especially, and this product brings us closer to fulfilling that commitment.”