Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium) has signed a 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Falck Renewables S.p.A for the development of a solar project in the region of Puglia, Italy.
The new solar plant project will have a capacity of 41.1 MW and a production of about 70 GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the energy necessary to cover the needs of about 26,000 households.
70% of the electricity produced by the solar plant will go to four of the six Italian sites of Solvay: Bollate, Ospiate, Livorno and Rosignano, achieving a reduction in annual CO2 emissions of over 15.000 tons.
The project is designed to be an integration of renewable electricity production and agricultural activity: it will include alternating structures of solar panels with rows of olive trees. The management of the olive grove will be assigned to specialized operators, which will generate new jobs and local income.
“I’m proud that most of our Italian plants will soon be powered by solar energy,” said Marco Colatarci, Solvay’s Country Manager in Italy. “Solvay has set ambitious sustainability goals through our Solvay One Planet roadmap and clean energy is the basis for production processes that can help us achieve our goals. I am particularly pleased that the new plant will include the cultivation of olive trees, which will provide an economic boost in communities where we operate.”
This project is part of the Solvay One Planet sustainability roadmap, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26%.
“Our goal with this project is to achieve a synthesis between investments in technology and agriculture at the service of our industrial customers,” said Toni Volpe, CEO of Falck Renewables. “We are pleased to contribute to the achievement of the sustainability objectives of an important industrial player like Solvay”.