FROM A LANDFILL TO A SOLAR POWER PLANT

BOLIDEN HARJAVALTA

Satakunta region's largest solar power plant was built on top of a decommissioned process waste dump. The solar power plant has an output capacity of 3.9 MWp, it produces 3000 MWh of solar electricity annually and reduces the company's carbon dioxide emissions by 267 tons annually. The area of the power plant is about 5 hectares and its foundations are old railway beams, i.e. recycled material. 6,912 solar panels and 12 inverters are responsible for electricity production in the power plant.

6912

SOLAR PANELS

3.9

CAPACITY MWP

3000

MWH ANNUALLY

A solar power plant from a landfill

Boliden Harjavalta is one of the world's most efficient copper and nickel producers. Boliden Harjavalta's factories are located in southwestern Finland in a strategically important location near a port. Our main products are copper, nickel, gold and silver. In addition, we produce sulfuric acid as a byproduct.

RENEWABLE SOLAR ELECTRICITY FROM A LANDFILL

Boliden's global strategy includes exploring opportunities for the use of renewable energy. Boliden Harjavalta became interested in the possibilities of solar power as early as the end of the 2010s, when the landfills of the company's great industrial area were formed into unified land areas, which were envisioned for the production of solar electricity. In the early 2020s, Boliden Harjavalta started actively looking for a partner to build a solar power plant on top of a landscaped landfill. Boliden wanted to reduce CO2 emissions, invest in renewable energy and find a way to utilize its landfills. In addition, the company realized that a landscaped landfill is an ideal location for a solar power plant: no vegetation is allowed to grow in the area, it is flat and windy. These are all excellent conditions from the point of view of building a solar power plant.

Boliden Harjavalta's solar power plant project has received even more feedback from the public than expected, mainly from external sources. The feedback has been only positive, the media and the local public have praised Boliden's solution to use an otherwise difficult to use landfill area for the production of renewable energy.

SOLARIGO AS A PARTNER

Boliden Harjavalta was looking for a PPA partner for the construction of its solar power plant. Out of a few options, we decided on Solarigo due to references, a professional approach and a credible technical implementation plan. Boliden Harjavalta's management and the group's energy department were involved in the solar power plant project from the beginning. The project employed the most from Boliden Harjavalla, Electrical Maintenance Manager Jari Holmberg, who was responsible for the project at Boliden. In addition, a person working in electricity distribution supervised the installation of the solar power plant in the field. The people responsible for the use of Boliden's land areas and the environment were also aware of the project at all times.

Solarigo was responsible for the construction and material flows of the solar power plant. Holmberg regards Solarigo's performance as respectable: "Seen from the side, the construction of the solar power plant and the management of material flows was a kind of logistics masterpiece."

In the construction of the solar power plant, it was important to succeed in several areas due to the special quality of the location. In the area, it was essential to follow operating instructions and safety instructions uncompromisingly. As a construction site, an industrial area is a very special site, where all workers and vehicles in the area must have their permits in order. In this task, Solarigo succeeded perfectly and there were no comments on the subject. During the project, there was also not a single safety deviation, and the risk assessments and precautions of all work phases were carried out as expected.

"Our industrial area is a very special location for construction of a power plant. Solarigo succeeded perfectly in this task, there were not a single remark in the access permit practices, and there was no safety deviation incidents during the project. A particularly big exceedance of our expectations was the project team's uncompromising adherence to our instructions and the professionalism of Solarigo's subcontractors."