Displaying items by tag: energy

UK: Russell Roof Tiles has installed a 165kW solar power plant as part of a €22.2m upgrade to its Burton concrete roof tiles plant in Staffordshire. Energy company Alt-Group supplied the solar power plant, which is equipped with Solis Inverters’ energy storage inverters. The upgraded Burton plant also features wash water recycling.

Russell Roof Tiles has signed a pledge to achieve Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ neutrality by 2040.

Japan: Sumitomo Mitsui Construction has successfully switched its Notogawa precast concrete products plant to 100% renewably-powered production. Nikkei News has reported that the company has switched the plant’s boilers to green hydrogen. These were previously the source of 60% of the plant’s emissions. The plant has also switched to using electricity entirely from renewable sources.

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction says it is working to make each of its precast plants carbon neutral.

US: Holcim US has inaugurated a 1300 – 1500Mwh/yr solar power plant at its Fort Totten ready-mix concrete plant in Washington DC. Resources News has reported that the solar power plant consists of both silo rooftop modules and carport-mounted modules. Madison Energy Investments will operate the solar power plant, and solar power engineering companies Centennial Generating Company and Halo were also partners for the project. Holcim US is committed to powering 100% of its operations renewably by 2030. It expects to reach 40% by the end of 2023.

Brazil: Eternit has launched Eternit Solar, a fibre cement photovoltaic roof tile, across Brazil. Local press has reported that the tile has a power capacity of 142Wp, compared to 15Wp for conventional tiles. It is fully compatible with conventional fibre cement roof tiles in roof construction. Eternit says that four to six tiles will provide sufficient energy for a single home. The company tested the product in partnership with the Energy and Environment Institute of the University of São Paulo (IEE-USP) and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). It produces the Eternit Solar tiles at its Atibaia plant in São Paulo, but plans to subsequently build a dedicated plant.

Eternit president Luís Augusto Barbosa said "The commercialisation of Eternit Solar is an important step for the future of the company. While the concrete photovoltaic tile is aimed at a niche market, the fibre cement photovoltaic tile is intended for high-volume applications. It is a revolutionary technology that will benefit a larger section of the population due to its more accessible cost.” He concluded “Eternit is on the market to democratise solar energy.”

Mexico: The Mexican Ready-Mix Concrete Industry Association (AMIC) says that European natural gas shortages and disruptions to the supply of oil, chemicals and other goods as a result of the conflict in Ukraine may cause a rise in the cost of global cement production.

AMIC president Ana Laura Burciaga said "Having a conflict that delays the arrival of these products can make them more expensive because they would have to be obtained from more expensive sources due to shortages.” Burciaga continued "The area where the conflict is taking place was a major supplier of gas and we are concerned that this will have repercussions, especially in terms of a price increase when we have just suffered a very significant one of a magnitude we had not seen for many years."