Lixil Corporation, parent company of the Grohe and INAX brands, has announced the opening of a solar park at its Albergaria production site in Portugal in line with the company’s global environmental strategy to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
2,270 photovoltaic modules will provide eight percent of the production site’s energy requirements with a total capacity of 1,500 kilowatts peak (kWp). It will also reduce the production plant’s CO2 emissions by more than 740 tons per year.
Duarte Cordeiro, Portugal’s Minister of Environment and Climate Action, and António Loureiro, mayor of the Albergaria-a-Velha Municipality, attended the inauguration of the solar park.
Duarte Cordeiro, Minister of the Environment and Climate Action said “I know that we will be able to accelerate Portugal’s transition to a carbon-neutral economy, while also promoting the competitiveness of our industry and our companies, through decarbonization, lower energy consumption and the promotion of endogenous energy sources.
“Portugal set the goal of increasing renewables’ share in electricity production to 80%, a target that was previously set for 2030 but that might be brought forward. This is the reason why our alignment with LIXIL is important. The inauguration of this solar park today is the perfect engagement we want for Portugal,”
Jens Harder, Leader, Manufacturing Fittings, LIXIL International, said, “LIXIL is innovating and scaling solutions to positively impact the planet. Using renewable energy sources is a key element to further reduce our carbon footprint. Since April 2020, plants in LIXIL International’s fittings production portfolio have achieved CO2-neutral operations, compensating for yet unavoidable CO2 emissions.”
The solar park consists of two sections: one with ground-mounted modules and the other with solar
shaders (carports). In addition to generating energy, the solar shaders will help to protect more than 270
parking spaces from sun and rain. Connections will also be installed for charging stations for electric
vehicles.