Green energy plant brings ex-Radici site full circle
Polymer producer Radici Group has announced the completion of a green-energy project at one of its former production sites.
Since the start of the 2020s, more than 50% of all the energy Radici consumes is renewable energy. Its sole supplier of renewable energy is Geogreen, a company set up in 2000 by Radici Group itself.
For this latest project, Geogreen acquired a former Radici manufacturing site at Isola Dovarese in the province of Cremona in northern Italy. The site had been inactive since 2005.
Geogreen has now completed the installation of a photovoltaic development there, with more than 5,000 panels covering a total area of 40 square-kilometres. The photovoltaic panels use solar-tracking technology and are bifacial; this should increase their effectiveness by 20% compared to traditional solar systems and help the plant produce around 5.5 million kWh of energy per year.
All of this energy will be used by Radici Group in its operations. The group has calculated a carbon emissions saving from this of more than 2,500 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year.
As part of the project, Geogreen has donated some of the land on the former Radici site to the Isola Dovarese municipality and installed a charging-unit for electric vehicles. An area of 25 square-kilometres adjacent to the solar plant will become a green space for the local community.
This is Geogreen’s first solar energy plant. Until now, the renewable energy it produces has come from six hydroelectric power stations. Company president, Angelo Radici, said the new facility represented an important step in Geogreen’s diversification and commitment to energy transition.
“Investing in renewable energies is essential if we are to reduce environmental impact and ensure a more sustainable future for our companies, our region and local communities,” Mr Radici said. “We are proud to be part of this.”
