Sabic has signed a 25-year agreement with Iberdrola, one of the world’s biggest electricity utility companies, to construct a 100MW solar PV facility on land owned by Sabic in Cartagena, Spain. Iberdrola will invest almost €70m in the project, which involves the installation of some 263,000 panels that will supply renewable power to the polycarbonate facility operated by Sabic at that site.
“Long-term energy purchase contracts provide stability to investments and have become an optimal tool for managing the electricity supply of major consumers, committed to clean and sustainable energy sources", explained Eduardo Insunza, Corporate Customer Global Director of Iberdrola.
The new PV plant will deliver an 80kt annual reduction in indirect CO2 emissions.
Planned to be fully operational in 2024, the 100MW PV solar plant - the largest industrial renewable power plant in Europe - will help Sabic reach its 2025 clean energy targets. The company’s ambition is to have 4GW of either wind or solar energy installed for its sites globally by 2025, rising to 12GW by 2030, and the present deal represents the next milestone in that journey.
In 2019, solar panels were installed at sites in India and Thailand, helping reduce greenhouse emissions by 200 tons. The company’s Home of Innovation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been completely solar-powered since 2015.
“This ground-breaking deal with Iberdrola is a significant step towards achieving our long-term sustainability and clean energy targets. Partnerships of this kind are the cornerstone of our business growth model,” said Bob Maughon, EVP Sustainability, Technology & Innovation and CTO and CSO at SABIC
“In recent years, the many breakthroughs in renewable energy technology have made deployment at this kind of scale possible. Our commitment to technology and innovation means we will always be early adopters.”
Sabic also plans to install PV technology at its 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 $300m, 300-megawatt solar array project on the western coast of Saudi Arabia.
Once complete, the electricity generated by the plant will be delivered to local chemical manufacturing plants.