Installation of solar panels in Arevalo
Plastic Omnium launches a pilot project to reduce the carbon footprint of its Arevalo plant in Spain by installing photovoltaic panels on its roofs.
Main project's drivers for reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Energy and resource efficiency
Energy Decarbonisation
Energy efficiency improvements
Improving efficiency in non-energy resources
Emission removal
Financing low-carbon issuers or disinvestment from carbon assets
Reduction of other greenhouse gases emission
Project objectives
To contribute to Plastic Omnium's goal of reducing its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 20% in 2025 compared with 2018, the Company is turning to solar energy production.
Through a pilot project in Arevalo, Plastic Omnium aims to reduce its environmental impact by installing more than 6,000 m² of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of its plant, for a total of 3,000 panels installed and 1.2 MW of nominal installed power.
Through the Arevalo pilot project, Plastic Omnium aims to demonstrate the initiative’s added value for the Division and the Company:
- An annual reduction of 400 metric tons in the site’s CO2 emissions
- Annual local electricity production of 1,600 MWh (approximately 8% of the site’s annual electricity needs)
- Energy independence in the event of a power cut or breakdown
- Limit the site’s exposure to the high volatility of the electricity market
Emission scope(s)
on which the project has a significant impact
Scope 1
Direct emissions generated by the company's activity.
Scope 2
Indirect emissions associated with the company's electricity and heat consumption.
Scope 3
Emissions induced (upstream or downstream) by the company's activities, products and/or services in its value chain.
Emission Removal
Carbon sinks creation, (BECCS, CCU/S, …)
Avoided Emissions
Emissions avoided by the activities, products and/or services in charge of the project, or by the financing of emission reduction projects.
Scope 3 – Replacement of electricity drawn from the local grid with electricity generated by the installed solar panels
- Production estimated at 1830 MWh/year (theoretical data from EDF), i.e. a 9% reduction in CO2 emissions from the site
- According to the consumption capacity between August and December 2020, the project would allow a reduction of 8.2% of the site’s CO2 emissions
- According to the real self- consumption between August and December 2020, the project would allow a 6% reduction of the CO2 emissions of the site.
The company will confirm in August 2021 whether its theoretical estimate of an 8% reduction in CO2 emissions from the site (400 tCO2eq/year) is correct.
The project was finalised in July 2019 (so these are estimates).
Annual production of 1,600 MWh of electricity (or 8% of the site’s electricity consumption).
The carbon intensity of the Spanish grid electricity is considered to be around 0.288 kgCO2eq/kWh, and the carbon footprint of the manufacturing, installation and end-of-life reprocessing of the solar panels is 0.055 kgCO2eq/kWh (for a lifetime of 20 years and a load factor of around 15% in Spain according to the BP stats review 2020).
This represents an annual reduction of 400 tCO2eq for the site (i.e. a reduction of about 8% of CO2 emissions from the site’s electricity consumption)
CO2 Gain =160 MWh ×(0.288 tCO2/MWh − 0.055 tCO2/MWh) ≈ 400tCO2eq/year
Key points
Invested amount
PPA partnership (long-term electricity delivery contract between two parties) No investment by Plastic Omnium, €1.2m by EDF
Starting date of the project
January 2019
Project localisation
Arevalo, Spain
Project maturity level
Prototype laboratory test (TRL 7)
Real life testing (TRL 7-8)
Pre-commercial prototype (TRL 9)
Small-scale implementation
Medium to large scale implementation
Economic profitability of the project (ROI)
Short term (0-3 years)
Middle term (4-10 years)
Long term (> 10 years)
Illustrations of the project
This project contributes to the following environmental benefits:
- Reduced national generation needs and lower overall demand (all else being equal)
- Freeing up transmission networks to help meet national demand
The project can be replicated in all countries depending on the following conditions: energy costs, degree of sunshine, local subsidies and taxation and technical feasibility.
The economic balance necessary for the profitability of the project must be respected.
- Subcontracting of the installation and operation of the structure
- Partnership with EDF for the implementation of the production project and submission of the file to the government agencies.
- Partnership under study with Total and EDF for the other Spanish sites.
Contact the company carrying the project :
bduclos@plasticomnium.com
