Cárnicas Frivall, a company that manufactures pork products, will soon have its first photovoltaic installation for self-consumption in its plant in Villar de Olalla (Cuenca).

The installation is being built and commissioned by EDP, which is a leading energy company in renewable energies, and it will have a capacity of 4,584 kWp and will enable the meat company to reduce its electricity consumption by more than 29% every year and to save 23% on its electricity bill. This is, so far, EDP's largest self-consumption installation for industrial customers in Spain.

With almost 8,500 photovoltaic modules, it will occupy an area of 45,000 m2, and its annual production will be of 7,327 MWh/year, which is equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of more than 1,850 homes.

Self-consumption through this plant will avoid the annual emission of 2,010 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, which translates into a positive impact on air quality similar to the one generated by almost 12,500 new trees.

Frivall, which belongs to the Vall Companys Group, a food group that has already opted for self-consumption in other of its companies, aims to design innovative technical processes and products that represent significant improvements in quality, health, well-being, efficiency and sustainability.

From EDP, its commercial advisor Miguel Fonseca, emphasizes that "this type of strategic alliances allow the increase of the customers’ business competitiveness through energy savings, efficiency and environmental protection".

In the project, which is a “turnkey” solution, EDP will supply and install all the plant elements and equipment, and it will manage all the formalities, such as its legalization. In addition, it will be responsible for the annual maintenance of the installation, which includes cleaning the photovoltaic modules, among other preventive interventions. The plant will also provide a system to monitor the energy generated in real time, thus optimizing the functioning of the installation.

Self-consumption is one of the energy solutions with the greatest savings potential, both for companies and industries and for households.

According to a study carried out by EDP on the potential of photovoltaic energy, Cuenca, with 2,739 hours of sunshine per year, has great opportunities to take advantage of solar energy generation.