Spain-based long steel producer Megasa will invest more than €300 million in its operations in Portugal, with the investment program including photovoltaic electricity generation facilities for self-consumption at its Seixal and Maia steel plants, according to media reports.
Megasa, which owns Portuguese long steel producer Siderurgia Nacional, said the photovoltaic project is intended to reduce its exposure to the level and volatility of electricity market prices amid changes in the Portuguese and European energy systems and conflicts in the Middle East.
Solar power investment to reduce energy dependence
Under the investment program, photovoltaic electricity generation units will be built to supply Megasa's Seixal and Maia plants. The company did not disclose the planned generation capacity or commissioning schedule for the solar facilities in the sources reviewed.
Energy is Megasa's second-largest production cost after the purchase of ferrous scrap, while the Seixal and Maia steel plants are the two largest electricity consumers in Portugal, according to the company.
Megasa also welcomed the Portuguese government's extension of compensation for indirect carbon emission costs, saying the measure is important for the future of the country's steel industry and directly supports the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries.
