Heavy industry turns to solar: BiH alumina producer building 16 MW of PV power plants

Zvornik-based aluminum and cement industry supplier Alumina is working on the construction of 16 MW of solar power plants that will generate electricity for its factories, in an investment valued at BAM 16 million (EUR 8.2 million).

The company produces various types of alumina, hydrates, zeolites, silica gel, and water glass, which are used in the production of aluminum, cement, refractory materials, and in many other industries. Alumina is the largest exporter in the Republic of Srpska, one of the two political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With an annual consumption of more than 170 gigawatt-hours, electricity accounts for a significant proportion of the company’s production costs.

In addition to rooftop solar panels, Alumina will also build a ground-mounted solar power plant. “This project is part of a comprehensive green energy program that we plan to implement, guided by sustainable development principles,” said Alumina General Manager Zoran Stevanović.

Alumina has already started installing solar panels on the roofs of facilities at the former metal processing plant Metalno.

Solar panels installed at the former Metalno plant (photo: Alumina/Facebook)

Zoran Šakotić, director of electrical maintenance and automation at Alumina, says that about 700 kWp has been installed so far at Metalno, with plans to deploy a total of 1,300 kWp. He adds that a substation has been built to serve the solar power plant.

The solar power plant at the Boksit factory will be ground-mounted, spanning 10 hectares

Unlike those at Metalno and Alumina, the solar power plant at the Boksit plant will be ground-mounted, spanning an area of ​​10 hectares, Šakotić pointed out. The total installed power of the solar power plants at the three locations – Alumina, Metalno, and Boksit – will be around 16 MWp.

These solar power plants will allow Alumina, for the first time since it was founded, to operate part of the year without buying electricity from the grid, explains Šakotić.

In addition to saving on electricity purchases, the company also expects to significantly reduce its CO2 emissions, making it more environmentally responsible.

Two years ago, Alumina built a small solar power plant at its factory, with a capacity of 800 kW, installing solar panels on multiple buildings.