Steel wire and coating specialist Bekaert will install a solar park on the factory grounds of its Spanish plant, Industrias del Ubierna (Ubisa), in Burgos, Spain.
The planned installation, which forms part of the company’s sustainability plan (to reach carbon net zero by 2050), will produce over 14GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the yearly consumption of more than 4,000 households.
“This exciting project will produce more than 15% of the electricity we need at our factory in Spain, making it one of the lower carbon footprint Bekaert plants,” said Michael Hamilton, VP commodities procurement at Bekaert. “It gives us direct access to clean electricity, reduces our dependence on the grid and will help us manage cost in a time of unprecedented energy price inflation.”
Menapy will develop, finance and operate the installation. Construction is expected to be finished by the start of 2023, enabling electricity production from the spring of 2023 onward. Bekaert Ubisa expects to consume 95% of the generated electricity.
“This project marks an important milestone for Menapy in the Spanish market,” added Angel Verdu, country manager, Menapy Península. “It crystallizes our long-term experience in industrial solar projects in Europe and it confirms that our Solar as a Service can bring important added value to high-consuming industries in Spain. Bekaert has clear and ambitious goals in sustainability as well as reducing energy costs and exhaust, and with this project we help them achieve both.”
