AkzoNobel has installed its largest European solar energy plant at its Pilawa site in Poland.
The site will be used to further power its efforts to transition all its production locations to renewable electricity.
“We’re committed to realising our science-based target of halving our carbon emissions across the full value chain by 2030,” says Janusz Karwowski, manufacturing director of AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints East Europe business.
“This investment will increase our momentum as we continue to combine transitioning to renewable electricity sources with achieving our business goals.”
The new solar energy plant covers nearly three hectares (around the size of two football pitches), and has 3,551 solar panels, with an installed capacity of 1.9MWp.
The panels will provide nearly a quarter of the decorative paints facility’s electricity needs.
The new installation is one of several recent investments at the Pilawa site, which have also included automating the solvent paint filling and raw material dosing processes.
The company has been operating on 100% renewable electricity in Europe since January 2022.
Wijnand Bruinsma
“The company has been operating on 100% renewable electricity in Europe since January 2022 and more than 30 sites around the world now use solar panels as a supplementary source of energy,” added Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s director of sustainability.
“We’re in the process of increasing this number significantly as part of a global program and Pilawa represents another successful step in the right direction.”
In addition, another solar project was recently completed in the Czech Republic, with 1,300 panels installed at the company’s Opava powder coatings site.
The plant covers nearly 2,800sqms and has an installed capacity of 57kWp. It will generate around 15% of the facility’s total energy needs.
AkzoNobel also operates on 100% renewable electricity in South America and North America.
The company’s ambition is to achieve 100% renewable electricity in its own operations by 2030.
