German copper producer Aurubis has announced plans to invest a further 20 million euros to expand the capacity of its solar PV plant at the company’s Pirdop site to 24 MW from the current 10 MW.
As a first step, the company will invest 12 million euros and spend another 8 million euros to acquire additional solar panels at an as-yet-unspecified date, Seenews reports.
The project in Bulgaria is part of a €530 million investment package that the German group’s supervisory board recently approved to stimulate sustainable business growth at Aurubis’ recycling plants in Georgia, USA; Hamburg, Germany; and the multi-metal production site in Pirdop, Western Bulgaria.
The first phase of the Bulgarian solar park expansion will be completed with two-sided fixed modules that produce more energy than conventional PV modules, notes Aurubis. The expanded power plant should be commissioned as early as 2024.
Aurubis Bulgaria put its 10 MW solar park into operation for its own use at the end of 2021. The company has installed over 20,000 solar panels on a 100,000 square meter cleared and reclaimed area of a former landfill.
Once all expansion works are completed, the Pirdop solar park will generate as much energy as 9,000 households would use for one year, saving 34,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, or more than 500,000 tonnes over the park’s 15-year life.
By 2030, Aurubis Bulgaria aims to have the Pirdop site cover 20% of the company’s energy needs from renewable sources.
Projects in the United States, Germany and Bulgaria are expected to increase the group’s annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by €130 million.
The investment package was unveiled as the German group posted its best-ever financial results for the 2021-2022 fiscal year through September 30, 2022.
Aurubis increased its pre-tax operating profit by 40% to €532 million as rising metal and sulfuric acid prices along with strong demand for copper products more than offset a rise in energy costs. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the company expects to report a pre-tax operating profit of between 400 million and 500 million euros.
Aurubis Bulgaria AD (formerly known as Cumerio Med AD) is among the largest companies in South-Eastern Europe and the largest in Bulgaria according to the Top 100 companies ranking.
