Lenzing & VERBUND: largest outdoor photovoltaic system in Upper Austria starts operation

With the open-air photovoltaic system on the "Ofenloch" landfill site, Lenzing is consistently continuing the path taken together with VERBUND towards a CO2-free energy supply and putting the first half of the new photovoltaic plant into operation, i.e. 2,780 kWp. Full commissioning of the 5,560 kWp plant will probably take place in the middle of October. The annually generated amount of electricity corresponds to 6,000,000 kWh, which should save around 4,400 tonnes of CO2 a year. Back in the spring/summer of 2022, the Upper Austrian fibre pioneer put three photovoltaic roof systems with a capacity of 1,454 kWp and an annual generation of around 1,508,000 kWh into operation. The electricity flows directly into production on site and in future also to e-charging points. Sixteen wallboxes are planned for the first expansion stage to be completed by the end of the year. A further 32 charging points are envisaged for 2023. The charging points will be accessible for employees, visitors and the company's own fleet.

Sustainability – the driver of innovation

Sustainability is a prerequisite and condition for each new development at Lenzing. "Sustainable business forms the basis for our long-term economic success. That is why we are working with strong partners on increasing our independence from the turbulence on the energy market and creating more planning certainty. With the consistent expansion of PV and the conversion to e-mobility, we are adopting a pioneering role in Austria and making an important contribution to the Upper Austrian photovoltaic strategy for 2030," says Stephan Sielaff, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

"The PV operator model of VERBUND enables us to covert to solar power without investment costs and without any risk. With the ongoing expansion of renewable energy, we are continuing our course of greening the value chain, optimising our climate balance, saving costs and relieving the power grid, as we use almost 100 percent of the PV electricity in our own production activities," explains Christian Skilich, Chief Pulp Officer of the Lenzing Group.

"We are very happy about the strategic partnership with Lenzing. With the power we generate, which comes predominantly from water, wind and sun, we are making a big contribution to the Austrian and European energy and climate targets. We are also consistently investing in the safety of the renewable energy future – around 1 billion euros per year for the expansion of generation, storage and electricity grids. VERBUND sees itself as a decarbonisation partner and supports industrial enterprises with our solutions on their way to a green energy future. Because we can only master the energy transition together," says Michael Strugl, Chairman of the Executive Board of VERBUND