Alight to build solar park for Nolato

The industrial group Nolato signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a solar park to be built by Alight. The solar park will be constructed in southern Sweden and will produce power equivalent to 15 percent of Nolato’s electricity consumption in Sweden.

This autumn, ground will be broken for a new solar park in southern Sweden. The Nolato Group signed a PPA for the park with solar energy company Alight. Alight will build, own and manage the plant, and Nolato will buy the electricity produced through Alight’s electricity trading partner Bixia.

– We are delighted to team up with Nolato and Bixia to supply solar energy to the Nolato Group’s operations and surrounding grid. It will be great to see how this investment will pave the way to a more sustainable energy production through solar PPAs, says Harald Överholm, CEO of Alight.

Built on an area equivalent to 11.5 football pitches, the solar park will have an installed capacity of 8 MW, which corresponds to an annual production of 8 GWh. This will cover 15 percent of Nolato’s total electricity consumption in Sweden. With a heritage rooted in responsible business conduct, Nolato has always had the well-being of people and the environment as an integral part of its operations since its establishment in 1938. The Group is now taking yet another step towards making its operations even more sustainable.

– Responsible business conduct is the foundation of our corporate culture. Sustainable business practices that have a positive social and environmental impact, but also make good business sense are the core of everything we do. This solar park is yet another step on our sustainability journey that will help us achieve one of our more challenging sustainability targets – an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2025, says Christer Wahlquist, President and CEO of the Nolato Group.

The agreement, which spans 10 years, will help the Group further reduce its environmental impact, reduce its electricity costs, and protect it against electricity price volatility throughout the course of the agreement.

– Incorporating solar energy into the customer’s hedging strategy not only reduce exposure against electricity price volatility, but also adds value. At the same time, it is a long-term and attractive price hedge that also contributes to more renewable production in southern Sweden where there is a power deficit, says Marcus Annell, Head of Financial Trading at Bixia.

EON plans to connect the solar park to the grid when it becomes operational in late April 2022.