Borealis, an Austria-headquartered PV encapsulant material supplier, is installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop array at its Italy plant with modules supplied by Indian solar manufacturer Waaree Energies.
The Waaree modules use Borealis’ proprietary Quentys encapsulant film, which is said to provide superior resistance to ultraviolet rays, a low rate of water vapor transmission, and no acetic acid or potential induced degradation (PID). Borealis claims its Quentys encapsulant film considerably improves the reliability and durability of photovoltaic modules and thus offer an improved rate of return.
The rooftop solar plant would be located at Borealis operations in Monza, and meet the electricity requirements for production at the plant. The plant is expected to become operational by the third quarter of 2021. The amount of clean energy thus generated will save nearly 90 tons of CO2 emissions per year, the rough equivalent of having planted around 4,000 trees.
The Monza installation is the first of several solar projects planned for Borealis production operations, each of which will move the company closer to its goal of sourcing 50% of all electricity it consumes from renewable sources by the year 2030.
The PV modules used in the Borealis Monza installation have been certified according to the solar module standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), an association that publishes global standards for a variety of electrical technologies, including solar.
The modules used in Monza are also in conformance with the Italian Fire Class certification UNI 9177.