Colombia. A new solar panel system was installed and put into operation by Celsia, an energy company of the Argos Group, in a forest nursery of Smurfit Kappa Colombia in Valle del Cauca. This environmental sustainability initiative adds to the contribution that the nursery already makes in the reduction of global warming, since through its 68,000 hectares of forest plantations and natural forests significant amounts of CO₂ are captured.
This photovoltaic solar system, which Smurfit Cartón de Colombia called Solar One, is part of the non-conventional renewable energy projects that Celsia offers to companies, homes and cities in Colombia.
There are 168 solar panels that will generate about 78 thousand kW / h / year, with which 29.7 tons of CO₂ per year will no longer be emitted, in addition to reducing by 50% the energy consumption of the forest nursery, the entomology and phytopathology laboratories and the La Estrella and La Suiza Forest farms, located in Restrepo, Valle del Cauca. Likewise, the location of the panels in this area is optimal, both for its geography and for the hours of sunshine it receives.
Regarding this system, Ricardo Sierra Fernández, leader of Celsia, said: "We are happy to be allies of Smurfit Kappa Colombia, a company that is an example and leader in environmental conservation issues. Being able to connect the generation of solar energy to feed their needs in that incredible nursery they have in Restrepo, is another example of that leadership. Thank you for trusting Celsia."
According to Álvaro José Henao, president of Smurfit Kappa Colombia, "the use of clean and renewable energies are part of our strategic objective of reducing CO₂ emissions, in which we have already traveled a path with the use of biofuels for the self-generation of energy in our plant in Yumbo, the use of natural gas in most of our operations and the CO₂ removed from the atmosphere and stored in our forest plantations. This new milestone excites us and fills us with motivation to continue contributing to the construction of a sustainable future."
Solar panels in companies are massified
At the end of 2017 Celsia had 1.36 MWp of solar energy installed in Colombia and at the end of the first half of 2020 it has 51 MWp in solar projects in operation. This is in addition to another 50 projects that are currently under development or construction for companies and industries with a capacity of 64 MWp.
