Orlen's refinery in Lithuania to produce renewable energy

Poland's largest energy concern Orlen's Mažeikiai refinery will invest in photovoltaic technology, a 42.2 MWp farm will be installed at the site, Orlen said in a press release. The installation is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2025.

It was pointed out that Orlen Lietuva's investment is part of Orlen group's plans to develop the company based, among other things, on zero- and low-emission energy sources. The farm will enable the refinery to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

"(...) The photovoltaic installation that will be built at the refinery will enable the production of approximately 45,000 MWh of electricity per year," said CEO of Orlen Lietuva Marek Golebiewski, quoted in the press release.

"The company will use it entirely for its own needs, among others, to power office buildings and other refinery infrastructure. This will not only reduce the operating costs of the plant, it will also be part of the energy transformation process implemented by the company," he added.

Orlen reported that the photovoltaic installation will be built on an area of 600,000 square metres. It will consist of 68,000 double-sided PV modules with an output of 620 Wp each.

The double-sided panels can capture sunlight from both above and below, making them more efficient in low-light conditions such as cloudy days. These types of modules can produce up to 30 percent more energy than conventional single-sided modules.

It was indicated that Electrum from Bialystok will be the contractor for the investment.

Orlen said in the press release that it is also investing in the construction of RES installations at its other plants.

This year, four photovoltaic power plants have already been built at the fuel terminals in Sokolka (1.25 MWp), Zurawica (1.6 MWp), Ostrow Wielkopolski (3.1 MWp) and at the production plant in Plock (4.8 MWp).

A power plant of up to 2 MWp is under construction, also on the premises of the Orlen's refinery in Plock.

"In addition, the corporation has installed 30 micro photovoltaic installations at Orlen fuel stations in Poland and has begun preparations for the installation of such installations at a further 40 stations," the concern said in the press release.

"Orlen Group currently has more than 1 GW of capacity installed in renewable energy sources," it added.

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