Pharmaceutical giant Almac has pledged to do its bit for the environment – by cutting carbon emissions from electricity at its Craigavon HQ by 95 per cent!
For the Almac Group confirmed today (Tuesday) that is has signed a 15-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to source electricity generated by the newly constructed Murley wind farm in County Tyrone.
The agreement will reduce carbon emissions by over 95% from electricity consumed at Almac’s Global HQ in Craigavon, as almost all of the site’s electricity will ultimately be generated by the windfarm.
Almac’s Craigavon site has undergone significant expansion in recent years with Almac announcing hundreds of millions of pounds investment in 2022.
The campus currently employs over 4,000 of Almac’s 7,000 global workforce supporting pharma and biotech companies in their drug development process. This reduction in Almac’s carbon footprint represents a significant step in the Group’s progress towards its carbon reduction goals.
Almac’s share of the wind project will deliver 34GWh of renewable electricity annually. Murley, owned by NTR Renewable Energy Income Fund II, is a 21.6MW windfarm with six wind turbines currently in late-stage construction and expected to be operational by July 2024.
Signing this agreement follows a number of recent steps taken by the Group to support their 2045 net zero target. These include joining the Science Based targets Initiative (SBTi) which defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting.
“We are delighted to partner with NTR on this exciting project which will allow us to power the operations at our Craigavon site with fully certified renewable energy,” said Niall Harkin, Executive Director, Almac Group.
“Almac’s participation in this project is a crucial step on our journey to net zero and will significantly reduce carbon emissions from the electricity we consume.
“As a global leader in providing a range of expert services and support across the drug development lifecycle, it is crucial that we demonstrate our commitment to the long-term sustainability goals of the sector.
“I am hugely encouraged by the progress that we are making on our climate journey and proud to mark this significant milestone we announce today.”
Francisco Del Rio, Associate Director of Power Sales at NTR, said: “We’re hugely excited to be partnering with Almac, an innovative pharmaceutical business based in Northern Ireland, on this long-term corporate power purchase agreement.
“Corporate power purchase agreements play a critical role in not only supporting business’ sustainability goals but having a wider impact on driving the clean energy transition across Northern Ireland and the rest of Europe.”
