Novelis Inc. completed the construction of its first solar park at its rolling and recycling production site in Pieve Emanuele, Italy. With this project, the company is investing $2.4 million in decarbonizing its production in Pieve, further supporting the development of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions for the European market. Local authorities granted their final approval for building the large solar park, which is scheduled to start generating electricity by end of this year.
“Investing in renewable energy generation is crucial to decarbonizing our operations and meeting our sustainability goals,” said Emilio Braghi, executive vice president, Novelis Inc., and president, Novelis Europe. “Further increasing our capabilities to supply aluminium produced with a lower CO2 footprint will also enable us to help our customers reduce their scope 3 emissions and achieve their decarbonization goals.”
The Pieve plant has more than 50 years of experience in aluminum rolling and recycling and focuses on recycling of coated aluminum. Thanks to the implementation of advanced technologies, the plant is a leader in continuous casting and cold rolling, supplying plain aluminum for a wide range of applications, such as pharmaceutical, automotive, closures, food, and lighting.
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. The over 28,000 sq m solar park will have an annual production of around 4,000 MWh, which will enable the plant to switch a large portion of its energy sources from carbon-intensive to renewable ones, while also 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.
“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 plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2026 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. Besides its strong focus on energy efficiency initiatives and recycling, the company will continue to seek opportunities to decarbonize its operations by switching to renewable energy sources.