MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sabic said that its polycarbonate manufacturing facility at Cartagena, Spain, is set to become the world’s first large-scale chemical production site to be run entirely on renewable power, following the signing of a major agreement, said Chemweek.
The deal will see Iberdrola, one of the world’s biggest electricity utility companies, invest almost EUR70 million (USD82.3 million) to construct a 100 MW solar PV facility with 263,000 panels, on land owned by Sabic, making it the largest industrial renewable power plant in Europe. The plant is expected to be fully operational in 2024.
The 25-year deal represents another milestone in Sabic’s journey to transition all its global operations to cleaner energy. Sabic’s ambition is to have 4 GW of either wind or solar energy installed for its sites globally by 2025, rising to 12 GW by 2030. In 2019, solar panels were installed at Sabic sites in India and Thailand, helping reduce greenhouse emissions by 200 metric tons, and Sabic’s Home of Innovation at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been completely solar powered since 2015.
Bob Maughon, executive vice president/sustainability, technology & innovation and CTO and CSO at SABIC, said, “This ground-breaking deal with Iberdrola is a significant step towards achieving our long-term sustainability and clean energy targets…The solar PV powered plant in Cartagena demonstrates that Sabic continues to drive the sustainability agenda in the chemicals industry and that a transition on such a large scale is possible.
“In recent years, the many breakthroughs in renewable energy technology have made deployment at this kind of scale possible…The new PV plant will deliver an 80,000 metric tons annual reduction in indirect CO2 emissions, and furthers strengthens our support and contribution to wider climate change initiatives like EU 2030 and our alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
Once the solar plant comes online, Sabic’s customers, including those in the automotive and construction sectors, will have access to polycarbonate produced with 100% renewable power, further responding to customer and consumer demands for more sustainable solutions in an increasingly carbon-neutral world.
Plans are also underway to install PV technology at Sabic’s global HQ in Riyadh, and a final-stage feasibility study with Marafiq and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu is underway to explore a $300 million, 300-megawatt solar array project on the western coast of Saudi Arabia. Once complete, Sabic will take the electricity generated by the plant and deliver it to local chemicals manufacturing plants.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PC consumption (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) rose in January-May 2020 by 19% year on year to 38,900 tonnes (32,700 tonnes a year earlier).
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world"s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world"s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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