All CMPC plants in Chile will operate solely on clean energy

Eléctrica Carén and Parque Solar Fotovoltaico Luz del Norte will cover 80% of the renewable attributes of indirect emissions for CMPC operations. The remainder will be covered through current supply contracts and biofuel production at the company’s cellulose plants. This means that the 24 factories owned by the company in Chile will operate with NCRE.

The multinational CMPC took an important step to reduce its carbon footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In keeping with its sustainability goals, it recently completed the purchase of renewable attributes that are recognized and traceable by the National Electrical Coordinator in order to back up its electricity consumption in all production plants in Chile.

The Company held a bid process for the 2021-2027 period, which was awarded to Eléctrica Carén to cover 60% and Parque Solar Fotovoltaico Luz with 20%. The remainder will be covered by non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) attributes that pertain to CMPC and are based on biofuel production at the cellulose plants and current energy supply contracts.  

The committed attributes according to the company sum to nearly 1.1 GWh per year on average, which is a significant step toward meeting the Company’s sustainability goals with 20% progress made toward the emissions goal and a 250,000 ton decrease in CO2e or greenhouse gases.  

This means the 24 plants owned by CMPC operating in Chile will do so with clean energy regardless of whether its a cellulose, packaging or tissue products plant, which are the three main business lines of the company.

“These contracts have a very important effect on indirect greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by the generators that store electricity for CMPC operations. With this tender and selection now completed we will bring indirect emissions from CMPC operations in Chile to practically zero,” said Nicolás Gordon, CMPC Sustainability and Environment Manager. 

This announcement comes on the heels of the recent recognition of CMPC as the second most sustainable forestry company in the world according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which acknowledges 1,386 companies as demonstrating strong leadership around sustainability. The company has participated in this indicator since 2015 and leads the forestry industry in the categories of “Chile”, “MILA Pacific Alliance” and “Emerging Markets”.

In 2019 CMPC proposed four sustainability goals for itself: being a zero waste company by 2025, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, reducing water consumption by 25% by 2025 and increasing its surface area under conservation by 100,000 hectares.

Regarding the selected companies

Latin America Power is a Brazilian capital company created in 2011 dedicated to the creation and operations of 100% renewable power plants both in Chile and Peru. In Chile it owns the hydroelectric plants Carilafquén-Malalcahuello totaling 29 MW, Parque Eólico Totoral at 46 MW and Parque Eólico San Juan with 193.2 MW, all of which together produce around 850 GWh annually. The LAP Chile – Peru portfolio produces around 1.3 TWh of energy annually.

Parque Solar Fotovoltaico Luz del Norte is a solar PV plant of 141 MW installed capacity that began operations in 2016 with thin film solar cell modules manufactured by First Solar.  Luz del Norte was jointly financed by First Solar, International Finance Corporation (“IFC”) and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (“OPIC”), currently named US International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”).