Tetra Pak installs rooftop solar panels to cut 700 tons of carbon emissions

Packaging giant Tetra Pak has installed 5,900 square meters of rooftop solar panels on its Binh Duong province factory, reducing carbon emissions by 700 tons and generating 1,900 MWh of electricity a year.

According to a release on Wednesday, the system was completed after six months of construction and is part of Tetra Pak’s commitments to reducing greenhouse gases towards net-zero emissions by 2030, said Eliseo Barcas, managing director and president at Tetra Pak Vietnam.

Targeting sustainable growth and raising the sustainability of packaging products, the Tetra Pak factory in the southern province is studying the deployment of the Common Energy Monitoring Platform (CEMP) to optimize energy usage.

In 2020, Tetra Pak Binh Duong was awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate for saving two million liters of water, reusing and recycling 90% of waste disposals, and cutting 4,000 tons of CO2 emissions yearly.

Last month, the plant was certified an AA+ rating, the top level of Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards (BRCGS), becoming the first and only facility out of 82 packaging units in Vietnam to make the grade.

Tetra Pak Binh Duong entered operation in 2019 and is Tetra Pak’s eighth plant in Asia-Pacific, manufacturing sterilized carton packages for Vietnam, ASEAN nations, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 2021, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm invested an additional EUR5 million ($5.44 million) to raise the facility’s capacity from 11.5 billion to 16.5 billion packages a year, and upgrade the facility to produce top-tier packages as substitutions for imported products.

The installation capacity of rooftop solar power in Vietnam as of March 23 was estimated at 7,660 MW, or 9.65% of the total of all power sources, according to EVN's National Load Dispatch Center. The capacity of rooftop solar power is between 5,363 MW at noon and 534 MW in the afternoon-evening.

Recently, rooftop solar power has become a trend among businesses in Vietnam. China-based Jinko Solar Co., Ltd., one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, is planning to install rooftop solar power for projects in Song Khoai Industrial Park in northern Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province. Jinko Solar has also proposed further plans in the coastal province covering over 100 hectares.

On March 2, Agribusinesses De Heus Vietnam and Bel Ga JSC signed agreements with Green Roof, a local rooftop solar power developer, to install rooftop solar power systems at their establishments. The systems of up to 20 MWp will be set up at 30 facilities of the two businesses in 19 cities and provinces.

In December 2022, Duy Tan Binh Duong Plastics signed a deal to build a 2,170 kWp rooftop solar photovoltaic system covering 16,000 square meters on its factory in the southern province of Binh Duong. The rooftop solar system will generate three million kWh annually, helping the firm reduce its carbon emissions by 2,000 tons a year.