Novelis Inc. has built its first solar park at the company's production site in Pieve Emanuele, Italy. Local authorities granted their final approval for building the solar park which spans over 28,000 square metres. The solar array is scheduled to start generating electricity by the end of 2023.
With this project, Novelis is investing $2.4 million in decarbonizing its production in Pieve.
The solar park´s annual production of around 4,000 MWh will enable the plant to switch a large portion of its energy from carbon-intensive sources to renewable ones while decreasing its reliance on external energy sources. The park will be connected to the Italian national grid, allowing for energy produced outside the plant's operating hours to be used by surrounding communities.
"Investing in renewable energy generation is crucial to decarbonizing our operations and meeting our sustainability goals," said Emilio Braghi, executive vice president of Novelis and president of Novelis Europe. "Further increasing our capabilities to supply aluminum produced with a lower CO2 footprint will also enable us to help our customers reduce their scope 3 emissions and achieve their decarbonization goals."
Located in the south of Milan, Novelis' Pieve plant is an ideal location to build a solar park as it has a large unoccupied area with high sun exposure.
"In addition to the importance of the solar park for Novelis, the project is also an investment in increasing renewable energy generation in the Lombardi region," said Laura Basile, plant manager at Novelis Pieve. "I am very proud that our team is part of a company that is leading the way in decarbonizing the aluminum industry while adding value to surrounding communities."
Novelis has the target to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2026, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. Novelis says the company will continue to seek opportunities to decarbonize its operations by switching to renewable energy sources.
