New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed company, Tronox Holdings plc, has signed a power purchase agreement with South African renewable energy company SOLA Group for the supply of 200 MW of solar energy to its mines and smelters in South Africa.
The titanium dioxide pigment manufacturer said in a statement last week that it anticipates the project to be fully implemented by the fourth quarter of 2023.
“Tronox’s renewable energy project with SOLA Group will reduce our global carbon emissions by approximately 13% compared to our 2019 baseline and has the full support of our Board of Directors and senior management,” commented Melissa Zona, Tronox Holdings plc’s Senior Vice President, External Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer.
The project was announced at a time when South Africa is in need of extra electricity capacity to be added to its electricity network. The country is facing power supply challenges as a result of Eskom’s ageing coal power generation fleet not being able to meet demand and supply power uninterrupted without experiencing breakdowns.
“We are delighted to see that large scale energy consumers like Tronox are making use of the opportunity to convert to clean and cost effective energy,” says Chris Haw, Director and co-founder at the SOLA Group.
“These types of projects are the fastest way to bring new generation capacity online and not only contribute to closing the electricity supply gap in our country, but also support the much needed transition to clean energy and modernization of our electricity grid,” Haw added.
Through the project, Tronox will be able to switch from coal-based electricity to renewable power, in turn improving its environmental credentials. The company says it is implementing innovative technologies and best practices at its operating sites to protect land, water, air and ecosystems it operates and aims to operate more sustainably.
“This is yet another example of how Tronox is committed to being a leader when it comes to corporate sustainability and protection of the environment. In the past 18 months, we have taken a number of significant steps that demonstrate this leadership: restructuring our Board to designate a committee with specific responsibility for oversight of Environmental Social Governance (ESG); including annual carbon emission reduction targets in our executive compensation plan; publicly announcing a detailed roadmap for reducing emissions, including a target to reduce emissions by 15% by the fourth quarter of 2025; and, committing to being fully aligned to both TCFD and SASB reporting for 2021,” said Melissa Zona, Tronox Holdings plc’s Senior Vice President, External Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer.
Tronox is also investing in fundamental research and development to improve its feedstock upgrading and TiO2 production technologies to reduce emissions and developing tangible projects to reduce the amount of solid waste generated and water consumed.
