Following the existing strategy to reduce the company\’s environmental impact, MCG has a new solar energy park composed of 2,185 photovoltaic modules totally produced in Portugal and installed in several exterior spaces of the infrastructure of the company, located in Carregado.
This is an investment that allows MCG mind for metal to reduce its ecological footprint by 350 tonnes of CO2 per year, representing annual savings of around 20% for energy costs. This production of energy through solar panels thus satisfies about 15% of the annual needs of the company and, during the daytime, it is expected that the installation will allow supplying 28% of the daily electricity consumption.
The main goal in this area is to be able to be self-sufficient in the consumption of electric energy, taking advantage of the company’s physical areas and spaces available – the roofs of some factory units and several contiguous lands.
Pedro Sousa, Financial Chief Officer of MCG, recalls that “electricity represents a high fixed cost in an industry with these characteristics, so by producing part of the electric energy it consumes, MCG will effectively reduce the energy costs and thereby increase the company’s competitiveness”.
The project manager also points out that this investment, by helping to significantly reduce the environmental impact of MCG, “is seen as positive by all the customers and partners, also improving the chances of acquiring future business”.
It is important to note that one of the main components of the system installed is the Open Renewables photovoltaic modules certified by TÜV Rheinland, in Germany, according to IEC 61215 Ed.2 and IEC 61730 standards. MCG chose equipment produced in Portugal, as it suggests the company’s general strategy. “The Open Renewables photovoltaic modules are currently the only equipment of this type recognized by the ‘Comproo que é nosso’ Portuguese initiative and this was another way of supporting Portuguese products and services,” says Pedro Sousa.
From a technical point of view, the new MCG solar power plant is based on a solar photovoltaic production system for self-consumption with an installed capacity of 100 kWp dedicated to one of the factories and of 375 kWp dedicated to the remaining plants and the administrative building.
In the first case (100 kWp), the set consists of 460 Open Renewables photovoltaic modules 260-PM60 and two SMA STP 50-40 inverters of 50 kW each. In addition, the second installation (375 kWp) has 1.725 Open Renewables 260-PM60 photovoltaic modules, seven SMA STP 50-40 50 kW inverters, and another SMA 25000TL inverter.