Germany's Haertha Group to power steel refining ops with solar energy

German electric utility EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (ETR:EBK) is supplying 10 MW of the electricity produced by a solar park in Bavaria to steel refining specialist Haertha Group to power its operations.

The electricity supply started on October 1 under a power purchase agreement (PPA) that the two companies signed for a period of 15 years.

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The power comes from the 28-MW Massbach solar park which went online a year ago. EnBW built the power plant without state subsidies under the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) for 18.3 MW of it and the deal with Haertha Group covers part of this section of the project.

The PPA with EnBW provides Haertha Group with an additional source of clean energy, said chief executive Sven Killmer. In combination with the group's own photovoltaic (PV) solar systems at its locations, this helps the steel processor to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and supports its efforts to become as sustainable as possible when it comes to its own energy consumption, Killmer explained.

North Rhine-Westphalia-based Haertha Group has ten locations in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands with about 400 employees. It provides coating solutions and metal finishing services.