The Lenzing Group has signed an electricity supply contract with green power producer Enery and Energie Steiermark to finance a photovoltaic plant in the Deutschlandsberg region in Styria, Austria. The electricity generated will supply the fibre and pulp plant at the Lenzing site after commissioning from the fourth quarter of 2023. The supply contract is limited to 20 years.

The plant’s output will amount to 5.5 MWpeak. This corresponds to the average annual electricity demand of more than 1700 households. Several photovoltaic systems are already being installed at the Lenzing site, including the largest ground-mounted plant in the province of Upper Austria, whose commissioning is imminent.

“In order to reduce our carbon emissions even further in line with our strategic targets, we aim in the future to rely to an even greater extent on electricity generated from renewable energies. Concepts such as these will make us less dependent on global energy markets in the medium to long term and further support our transition from a linear to a circular economy model,” comments Stephan Sielaff, Lenzing Group CEO.

In 2019, Lenzing became the first fibre manufacturer to set a target to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and to be climate neutral by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been confirmed by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Lenzing is also currently investing in reducing carbon emissions at other sites worldwide. Only recently, the Lenzing Group announced that its Indonesian site will also be relying on green energy in the future.

“We are very pleased to have signed one of the first long-term electricity supply contracts with a leading Austrian industrial company for our first solar park in the province of Styria. In the context of our industry partnership, we are particularly pleased to make a contribution to ensuring that Austrian industry receives competitive and market environment,” noted Richard König, CEO of Enery, and Lukas Nemec, COO of Enery.

For Christian Purrer and Martin Graf, members of the Management Board of Energie Steiermark, the project is “the result of an efficient and trend-setting interaction between energy companies, regional policymakers and industry, with a clear win-win situation for all parties involved. It exemplifies how quickly green generation projects can be implemented when all stakeholders agree to act together and avoid excuses as to why something can’t be done.”

www.lenzing.com