Holcim US Invests in Major Midwest Solar Venture

Holcim US, a Chicago-based company providing sustainable building solutions, will make a significant clean energy investment in northeast Michigan with a new partnership to bring the company’s largest solar project in the Midwest to its own cement plant in Alpena.

The project’s 25 MW solar array will be optimized for maximum energy yield with fixed-tilt high-performance bifacial solar panels that generate power on both the front and back sides.

NorthStar Clean Energy will implement the solar solution, which is anticipated to produce over 30 percent of Holcim’s current energy demand. The company is expected to receive approximately 35,000 MWh of clean power from the project per year under a solar equipment service contract with a minimum term of 20 years.

“The solar project on 100 acres of Holcim’s Alpena property is another powerful example of the investment we are willing to make to address sustainability with urgency,” says Atl Martinez, vice president, procurement at Holcim.

When combined with existing renewable energy efforts, the solar initiative will help the plant self-generate 75% of its electric power needs. Construction of the system will begin this year. Commercial operations are expected to begin in December 2024. “We are committed to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels,” says Michael Nixon, senior vice president, manufacturing at Holcim, “a goal that will benefit the environment as a whole and the Alpena community we have called home for more than 115 years.”