Renewable power plants require large amounts of resources to be built. With power purchase agreements (PPAs) lasting up to 25 years, plants must be designed and operated with consideration to long-term performance and eventual decommissioning.
Scatec is committed to being a responsible business by considering our projects’ long-term performance and end-of-life decommissioning, aiming to minimise potential negative impacts upon society and the environment, as well as maximise economic value.
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GRI 303-1: Interactions with water as a shared resource
Scatec’s main use of water is for module cleaning in the operations phase of our solar projects. During the construction phase, water is used by our contractors for dust suppression on access roads and the project site, as well as concrete batching (where required). Various water sources are used in different locations, based on availability, predominantly comprising groundwater and potable water from municipal water networks.
The amount of water needed depends on several factors such as ground conditions, vegetation cover, module soiling, natural cleaning due to precipitation and cleaning technologies utilised. For example, in Egypt we incorporate a dry-cleaning method comprising tractors with cleaning brushes, which radically reduces the water used for module cleaning.
Water used in module cleaning will contain dust that was on the panels and will fall to the ground or evaporate without an environmental impact. At some power plants we use biodegradable detergents for cleaning. These are formulated to rapidly degrade to avoid environmental impacts.
Water conservation awareness, minimising water use for dust suppression by maintaining road conditions and monthly monitoring to identify causes of abnormal volumes are among the management considerations implemented at all plants. Efficiency is sought by avoiding unnecessary washing cycles and using effective washing methods like spraying.
The production of solar modules requires large quantities of water. Scatec continues to engage with our main solar module suppliers on their sustainability and environmental practices and reporting.
Hydropower investments
Substantial amounts of water flow through our hydropower investments. Scatec does not have operational control over these projects, though have reviewed water basin and flow management practices to ensure alignment with the requirements of the EU Taxonomy.
Water basins management is a local government responsibility, and they also regulate water discharge volumes. Plant operators follow the requirements which are set to ensure minimal ecological flows, balance water availability with flow and to avoid overfilling reservoirs.
Changing seasonal water availability and maximum flow are potential impacts of climate change on the hydropower plants and were assessed in 2022.
GRI 303-3: Water withdrawal
Scatec reports on water extraction by source for our operational projects. Scatec identified a number of our projects located in water-stressed areas within Jordan and South Africa, as defined by the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas. The source of water in Jordan and South Africa is ground water.
| Metrics | Unit | Actual 2023 | Actual 2022 | Actual 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total water withdrawal | mill liters | 102.3 | 91.4 | N/A |
| - Surface water | mill liters | 0.1 | 0 | |
| - Ground water | mill liters | 80.2 | 80.9 | |
| - Potable water | mill liters | 22.1 | 9.1 | |
| - Rainwater | mill liters | 0 | 0 | |
| - Wastewater | mill liters | 0 | 1.4 | |
| Total water withdrawal in water-stressed areas | mill liters | 9.3 | 11.3 | 11.0 |
| - South Africa | mill liters | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.3 |
| - Jordan | mill liters | 5.1 | 7.0 | 8.6 |
The total water withdrawal reported for 2022 is restated.
GRI 306-1: Waste generation and significant waste-related impacts
Waste volumes and types generated varies by renewable technologies. For solar and wind projects most waste is generated upstream during extraction and processing of raw materials to create wind turbines and solar panels. These relate to tailing and other waste from mining and processing of key inputs such as iron ore to make steel or quartz for glass and silicon. Solar module manufacture involves a variety of chemicals such as acids that must be carefully disposed of, in addition to the generation of large volumes of wastewater.
Relatively little waste is generated during the operation of solar and wind projects. Hydropower projects can generate large volumes of silt during operations. This can however be a resource when applied to other areas such as farms to increase soil quality.
We follow the waste hierarchy for waste management; we work to first prevent waste being generated then minimize, reuse, recycle, recover energy, and then dispose of waste responsibly working to avoid landfill as far as practically possible. We are normally dependent on local waste management infrastructure and since we operate in many developing countries, recycling rates may be lower than desirable.
We take a circular, cradle to cradle approach, and every project will develop a plan for end of life and decommissioning. At end of life, we will make sure that all major components such as solar panels and turbine blades are reused or recycled.
GRI 306-3: Waste generated
Scatec reports on non-hazardous waste, such as paper, plastic and metal, and hazardous waste, like oil contaminated materials, concrete, and sewage generated at our project sites. In certain projects we report a higher output of waste due to the accumulation of waste streams over a longer time period. It can be more cost efficient to dispose of larger quantities over time, as opposed to small quantities frequently. We aim to recycle all waste where possible, incinerate hazardous waste, and only use landfills according to internationally recognised standards.
| Metrics | Unit | Actual 2023 | Actual 2022 | Actual 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total waste generated | tonnes | 36.7 | 33.6 | N/A |
| Hazardous waste | tonnes | 6.4 | 7.6 | |
| Waste to landfill | tonnes | 20.9 | 19.8 | |
| Recycled waste (solid) | tonnes | 9.3 | 6.2 |
The total waste generated reported for 2022 is restated.
