STMicroelectronics, a global leader servicing clients across the gamut of electronics applications, stated that its Bouskoura plant in Morocco will acquire 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2022, up from 1% in 2020, as part of its action plan to reach carbon-neutrality by 2027.
STMicroelectronics has had a back-end plant in Bouskoura for nearly 20 years, employing 2,800 employees. Over the last few years, the site has created many projects to minimise its indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 2) and increase the usage of renewable energy sources.
The acquisition of wind farm electricity
The electricity generated by 12 InnoVent wind turbines in North Morocco will be routed into Morocco's national power grid and then purchased by ST. The 10-hectare wind farm, built by InnoVent, a company specialising in the development and operation of wind and solar farms in France and Africa, began producing electricity in March 2021 and will reach its full capacity of 36 MW by the end of the year. It is located in Oualidia – El Jadida in northwest Morocco, near the Atlantic Ocean. With an annual output of more than 80 gigawatt-hours of green energy, the wind farm could help cut CO2 emissions at the Bouskoura factory by around 60,000 metric tonnes per year – the equivalent of growing 1,100,000 trees.
LED lighting will be used to replace all conventional light bulbs across the site: This effort, which will begin in September 2020, will cut the site's yearly power consumption by 1.3 GWh. Fabrice Gomez, General Manager of STMicroelectronics, remarked, "Our purchases of electricity from the Oualidia wind farm supplement our own electricity generation from the solar carport, which we built over a year ago. We are happy to assist the Moroccan government's commitment to the energy transition by relying on renewable and local energy sources to help the Company achieve its carbon neutrality goal.”
ST Bouskoura installed a solar carport (250 parking spaces) in December 2019 with 2,400 solar panels generating 672 kilowatts (kWp) of peak power and spanning 4,000 square metres. This scheme reduces the site's annual CO2 emissions by almost 740 metric tonnes by producing more than 1 gigawatt-hour of photovoltaic energy. To supplement the power supplied by the wind farm, solar energy from this carport provides some of Bouskoura's own power demands.
“Through a combination of on-site solar power installations and agreements to purchase green-certified renewable energies, STMicroelectronics has committed to obtaining 100% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2027,” said Rajita D'Souza, President, STMicroelectronics. The utilisation of wind power to generate electricity at our Moroccan factory in Bouskoura is a significant step forward for our company, and it reflects a trend that will be strengthened over time and expanded to encompass several of our locations.”
