ID Energy Group, a corporate group specialising in photovoltaic energy and LAFARGE Cement Hungary signed the first ground-mounted corporate PPA of 26 megawatt-peaks (MWp) solar PV capacity. This private power purchase agreement will be the first and biggest to be successfully concluded in the country.
ID Energy Group will be developing, building and operating the project located on and around the premises of LAFARGE’s factory in Királyegyháza. LAFARGE will purchase the generated energy at a fixed price for 15 years.
The factory is located in one of the best solar irradiation regions close to the city of Pécs in the south of Hungary. Upon energisation, LAFARGE Cement Hungary will have the opportunity to secure a third of its total electricity consumption from the solar PV plant, as part of Holcim group’s goals for renewable energy adoption and greenhouse gas emission reduction. The project, developed by ID Energy Group together with Voltrack Holding is planned to achieve the required permits in 2023 and reach commercial operation by the beginning of 2024.
The total investment of more than 16 million euros will not only be stimulating the involved local businesses but also benefit the local community of Királyegyháza during its more than 40-year expected lifetime. According to Francesco Cortesi, General Manager of Hungary and Southeast Europe at ID Energy Group, “this PPA is the first step in fulfilling the company’s target to become one of the main suppliers of clean energy for industrial clients in Hungary and Southeast Europe.”
“With the currently observed climate change impact on our world, the industrial energy consumers will have no other option than to switch to renewable energy sooner than later, which also provides security for those consumers against any future fluctuation of the electricity prices such as what we are experiencing nowadays,” he said.”
“The building sector has an essential role to play to accelerate our world’s transition to net zero,” added Tamás Hoffmann, Country Manager of LAFARGE Cement Hungary.
The cement industry’s CO2 emissions can be understood through three different scopes: Scope 1 includes all direct emissions. It is at the core of LAFARGE’s strategy and accounts for 75 per cent of its footprint. Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed in the company’s owned or controlled equipment. It accounts for 5 per cent of its carbon footprint. Scope 3 emissions include other indirect emissions such as the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels and transportation. It accounts for 20 per cent of LAFARGE’s carbon footprint.
