The project cost EUR 3.56 million and provides a capacity of 3.2 megawatts (MW), which will provide up to 40% of the in-house total annual electricity consumption of Olpha.
In total, 5,390 solar panels are located in the park, helping to significantly reduce carbon emissions and increasing the company's independence from fossil energy sources.
"Each renewable energy project, starting from small ones for household consumption, ending with green energy parks created for the production needs of companies, being able to partially or fully provide the production process with electricity, strengthens our energy independence. It is also an investment in sustainability and an important step in the direction of climate neutrality," said Kaspars Melnis, the Minister of Climate and Energy, who was at the opening ceremony.
The total area of the newly opened solar panel park in the territory of Olpha in Olaine is 4.2 hectares. EUR 3,560,833.04 were invested in its creation, EUR 882,851.16 of which consist of co-financing from the EU Recovery Fund, managed by the Development Finance Institution "Altum". The project was commenced in April 2023 and was commissioned in September 2024.
JSC Olpha (formerly known as 'Olainfarm') is one of the largest companies in the Baltic States with 50 years of experience in the production of pharmaceuticals and chemical pharmaceutical products. Olpha’s products are exported to more than 60 countries and it has subsidiaries in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Poland.
The opening of the Olaine solar panel facility comes just one week after another large project opened near Cēsis, as previously reported by LSM.