Copper producer Aurubis to build 14-MW solar park in Bulgaria

German copper producer and recycler Aurubis AG (ETR:NDA) has put forward plans to invest EUR 530 million (USD 560.5m) in several projects, including in a scheme to more than double the capacity of its solar park in Bulgaria to 24 MW.

The Hamburg-based company intends to install double-sided photovoltaic (PV) modules at its existing 10-MW solar farm within its manufacturing site near Pirdop, western Bulgaria. The project will extend the in-house facility’s overall capacity at a cost of some EUR 20 million, Aurubis said in December.

The enlarged PV plant is expected to start generating electricity as early as 2024. Its output is estimated to be enough to cover the annual power consumption of 9,000 local homes while saving more than 34,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The Aurubis-1 solar park was commissioned in 2022. Its expansion is aligned with Aurubis’ strategy to decarbonise its production activities in Bulgaria and back its goal of cutting Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030. The construction of a third solar plant at the Pirdop site is on the agenda, as well.

Apart from the solar project, the proposed investment package will also back the expansion of the German firm’s recycling capabilities in Georgia, the US, and Hamburg, Germany.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.057)

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