Cheshire vet products firm unveils largest solar-powered plant in Croatia

Dechra Pharmaceuticals has opened a £1.3m solar powered plant at its subsidiary’s Genera d.d manufacturing operation in Zagreb, Croatia.

The Northwich-based vet supplies group said the the facility has been partially subsidised by EU funds.

The facility is now recognised as the largest integrated power plant for own consumption in Croatia. Any surplus electricity from the power plant is distributed to the municipal electrical grid.

The power plant project has taken seven months to complete and was commissioned in June this year.

Up until then the Genera operation sourced 100% of energy via the main grid.

Following the installation, the annualised level of electric power generation is expected to be approximately 1,545,000 kWh and will generate nearly a third of the electric power needed for Dechra’s Croatian manufacturing facility.

Dechra’s chief executive, Ian Page said: We are delighted with the outcome of this investment project and would like to thank everyone involved including the Genera staff, local partners, EU and government teams.

“This power plant initiative will see us de-risk the site’s energy supply by securing its own source of electricity via renewable sources.

“We expect to reduce the Zagreb site’s CO2 footprint by approximately 360 tonnes, which equates to 4% of the Dechra’s total CO2 emissions in 2018.

“We also anticipate that the power plant will allow us to lower variable costs, mitigate the risks of electricity price fluctuations, and will have a direct impact on reducing the cost of goods sold in the future.”

He added: “Over the next five years we will be increasing manufacturing volume so, it is especially important from both a business and environmental perspective to utilise a renewable and sustainable energy source.”