Iberdrola and Solvay will work together on a new solar project to provide Solvay’s French plants in Tavaux and Saint Fons with green electricity.
Under the agreement, 172 hectares of land will be used to build a ground-mounted photovoltaic facility. The companies plan to sign a 20-year corporate power purchase agreement to sell the power to Solvay.
The solar facility, built and operated by Iberdrola Renouvelables France, will occupy 77 hectares and comprise around 100,000 photovoltaic modules. The remaining area will be dedicated to preservation measures to ensure that the project is fully integrated into its environment.
The land that Solvay has dedicated for this project includes two rehabilitated settling ponds from its former soda ash plant located in the Herbitzheim-Willerwald-Sarralbe municipalities on both Bas-Rhin and Moselle departments, in the Grand Est region of France.
The plant will produce nearly 75GWh per year, making this facility one of the largest such installations in Europe. A total of 60% of the green electricity produced will be destined for Solvay’s industrial sites.
The plant is expected to go into operation by the end of 2025.
“We are delighted to partner with Iberdrola on this clean energy project that will significantly reduce the energy footprint of our Specialty Polymers and Aroma businesses in France,” said Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay.
“It’s another important step in our Solvay One Planet roadmap as we continue to raise the bar and accelerate progress towards our ultimate goal of achieving carbon neutrality.”
Chairman and CEO of Iberdrola Ignacio Galán added: “Building cross-sector alliances to deliver new clean energy projects continues to be an important pillar of Iberdrola’s global strategy, based on electrification through renewables, networks and storage.
“Businesses are taking a leading role in the energy transition and this major new solar project will deliver significant environmental and economic benefits. We look forward to working with Solvay and to grow our relationship further in the years to come.”