Çimsa invests in solar power plant at Eskişehir facility

Çimsa, a Sabancı Holding subsidiary, will build a solar power plant (SPP) at its Eskişehir Factory following similar installations at its Afyon and Bunol facilities. Çimsa, a global brand from the Sabancı Group, has committed to a major solar power investment. The company will construct a solar power plant (SPP) at its Eskişehir Factory following installations at its Afyon and Bunol facilities. The plant will have an installed capacity of 14.2 MWp DC and will be capable of generating approximately 19 million kWh of electricity annually. With this investment, approximately 14% of the factory's annual energy needs will be met from renewable energy sources.

Capable of generating approximately 19 million kWh of electricity annually

Çimsa, a Sabancı Holding subsidiary, is undertaking various initiatives to improve its environmental performance and contribute to sustainable living. Adding another step to its sustainability efforts, Çimsa has committed to a new SPP investment. The company will build an SPP at its Eskişehir Factory with an installed capacity of 14.2 MWp DC, capable of generating approximately 19 million kWh of electricity annually. The facility, which will meet approximately 14% of the Eskişehir Factory's annual electricity consumption, will be constructed on 166,000 m² and will use 25,740 solar panels. The electricity generated at the plant will be equivalent to the annual electricity needs of approximately 6,300 households.

Targeting carbon dioxide (CO₂) savings of approximately 8,400 tonnes annually

SPP construction is planned to begin in the second quarter of 2024, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 2025. The SPP project aims to achieve annual savings of approximately 8,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂), contributing to nature through an amount equivalent to the carbon neutralization capacity of 5.6 million trees. Umut Zenar, CEO of Çimsa, made statements regarding this investment. Zenar said: "In the global cement sector, efficiency improvements in all resources, particularly energy, digital transformation, use of alternative fuels and raw materials, and advanced technology investments such as hydrogen as fuel and carbon capture-storage-utilization are seen as key factors supporting achievement of net-zero targets." Stating that following Sabancı Holding's commitment to achieve "Net Zero" by 2050, they launched a decarbonization project under Sabancı Holding's leadership in 2022, Zenar said: "Within this scope, we submitted our target commitment to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and after the ongoing validation process, we will share our SBTi-approved targets." [caption id="attachment_160769" align="aligncenter"] Umut Zenar[/caption]

"A strong step to reduce our carbon footprint"

Zenar continued: "Energy efficiency and diversification represent an important step in our emissions reduction journey. While our renewable energy-sourced electricity usage rate was 58.2% in 2022, we target to increase this rate above 80% by 2030. The SPP project to be built at our Eskişehir Factory is a strong step we are taking as part of our vision of creating sustainable value, to meet our operations' energy needs with renewable energy sources and reduce our carbon footprint. With the commissioning of our Eskişehir SPP and waste heat-to-electricity generation investment, approximately 40% of our Eskişehir Factory's electricity needs will be met from electricity it generates itself."