Bekaert : and Edison Next sign a twelve-year on-site solar power purchase agreement (PPA) at the Bekaert plant in Sardinia (Italy)

Bekaert and Edison Next sign a twelve-year on-site solar power purchase agreement (PPA) at the Bekaert plant in Sardinia (Italy)

This 6.1 MW solar installation marks another major milestone in Bekaert's sustainability strategy, Creating a Better Tomorrow.

Bekaert, a global market and technology leader in material science of steel wire transformation and coating technologies, and Edison Next, the Edison Group company that supports industrial customers and public administrations in the ecological transition and decarbonization, announce the signing of a 12-year on-site Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This PPA will see the installation of a photovoltaic system with a total power of 6.1 MW at the Bekaert plant in the province of Cagliari, Sardinia. The solar installation is capable of meeting more than 20% of the plant's current energy requirements.

The photovoltaic system at the Bekaert Sardinia plant will be completed and operative in 2025. Edison Next will finance, develop and manage the installation. Covering an area of about 23 000 square meters, this system will produce over 11.2 GWh a year and reduce annual emissions of about 3 000 tonnes of CO₂, the equivalent of the annual consumption of more than 4 000 households. Bekaert Sardinia expects to self-consume 93% of the renewable electricity generated.

"This state-of-the-art solar project at Bekaert's Sardinia plant incorporates trackers that follow the path of the sun to optimize renewable energy production," said Michael Hamilton, VP Procurement Commodities Category at Bekaert. "It will accelerate our sustainability ambitions as well as make us less dependent on energy price inflation. Since opening thesolar plant in Burgos, Spainlast year this marks a next milestone to achieve the goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 46.2% by 2030."

"We are proud to be able to contribute to the sustainability goals of Bekaert, one of the Italian, European and global leaders in the steel sector," said Marco Steardo, Industry Director of Edison Next. "The development of this large photovoltaic system in fact marks an important step in the decarbonisation path of Bekaert Sardinia and the Bekaert Group in general towards their ambition of net zero by 2050. Photovoltaic is a mature technology that, backed by the PPA formula, represents a primary fundamental element for energy transition by companies."

New 6.1 MW solar installation will meet more than 20% of current energy requirements at Bekaert's plant in Sardinia.

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