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A solar park with a capacity of about 28.5 megawatts has started operations at the cement plant of Holcim Hungary Ltd in Királyegyháza. The power plant, set up by ID Energy Group, is capable of providing almost a third of the electricity needed for production, revealed the company.
Holcim Hungary, which operates a cement plant in Királyegyháza (southwestern Hungary, near Pécs), said in the statement that the solar park is unique in the country because
it is the first one to be built under a power purchase agreement (PPA), and at the same time has the right to feed electricity into the public grid.
Preliminary estimates suggest that solar energy will be able to supply about 30 percent of the energy needed for the full operation of the factory, and further green energy projects are planned.
The Hungarian subsidiary of the Swiss-based Holcim Group, employing over 140 people, noted that the company aims to offer innovative solutions to the domestic waste problem in the current economic and industry changes and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. To this end, it is preparing a project for the recovery of construction and demolition waste, the expansion of renewable energy sources, the increase of biodiversity in mines, and carbon capture and storage.
Since its launch in 2011, the cement plant has spent HUF 4.5 billion (EUR 11 million) on environmental investments.
Holcim operates its only cement plant in Hungary at Királyegyháza using the most modern technology available, while also has a clay and limestone mine at Bükkösd.
The company added that it is facing significant challenges in the current legal and economic environment, limiting its options, yet it has set up a number of targets for 2025: focusing on local employment, strengthening the economy, promoting the green transition of the domestic construction industry, and providing the necessary low-carbon cement. Holcim Hungary’s net sales revenue in 2024 exceeded HUF 46 billion (EUR 113.5 million), while according to public company data, in 2023, it had a revenue of HUF 34.316 billion (EUR 85 million) and a loss of HUF 1.476 billion (EUR 3.6 million).
Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay