Respect for the environment

The nature of Solaria is based on sustainability, from its activity and as one of the values on which the Company’s growth is articulated.

For Solaria, a company dedicated to renewable energies since its origins in 2002, the fight against climate change and the protection of the planet is fundamental. We consider it a priority to lead the transition towards low-carbon business models that reduce or mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

Solaria’s business activities are essentially aimed at contributing to sustainable development and the fight against global warming, promoting the transition to a carbon-free economy through the generation and commercialization of 100% renewable electricity from photovoltaic solar technology.
The energy that Solaria generates is emission-free, so the Company avoids the emission of much more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it emits.

Solaria’s climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy is advancing towards the complete decarbonization of its business model, supporting the global energy and economic transition, increasing, year after year, its portfolio of renewable energy generation projects.

Solaria aims to lead the way in the decarbonization of the economy through the generation of photovoltaic solar energy, contributing substantially to the mitigation of climate change.

Solaria’s business model is eligible for the European Taxonomy. Specifically, Solaria’s business actively contributes to the plans to fight against climate change, since its revenues, CAPEX and OPEX are completely linked to the generation of photovoltaic solar energy.

But we not only fight against climate change through our business as a renewable energy generator, but also from a holistic perspective in our relationship with the environment, ranging from the efficient and responsible use of natural resources to the preservation of biodiversity and the promotion of the circular economy.

Environmental Policy

The protection of the environment and the fight against climate change are the essence of Solaria, are included in its Code of Business Ethics and Sustainability Policy and are developed through the Environmental Policy.

This policy, approved in 2020, in addition to deepening the Company’s commitments in relation to its business activity and environmental impact, focuses on the relationship with the environment, addressing material issues for the Company such as the fight against climate change, the efficient use of resources, the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of a circular economy.

The environmental policy is based on an integrated management strategy, going beyond mere regulatory compliance. The Board of Directors is ultimately and ultimately responsible for its management, updating and compliance.
In this regard, the Board of Directors appointed, during 2020, an Ethics, Compliance and ESG Committee in charge of the Company’s sustainability strategy and, among others, of issues related to climate change and environmental protection, as well as supervising the degree of compliance with the established objectives, the review and updating of the risks and controls in place and any other relevant issues that arise in relation to this matter.

The basic principles of the Environmental Policy are as follows:

• Environmental strategy and management. Develop a Company strategy to facilitate monitoring, performance evaluation and decision making in this area.
• Fight against climate change. Through the development and promotion of the use of renewable energies – specifically solar photovoltaic energy – as fundamental elements in the reduction of emissions and the decarbonization of the current energy model.
• Biodiversity protection. Respect for ecosystems, biodiversity and cultural heritage in the natural environments in which the Company’s facilities are located.
• Responsible and efficient use of resources. To minimize the environmental impact of the Company’s activities and contribute to the circular economy by optimizing the use of resources.
• Responsiveness to stakeholders. To promote mutual and social benefit in the relationship with stakeholders in order to protect the environment and share experiences and synergies.

Emission-free generation

With our projects we make a very positive contribution to the natural environment, as well as to the achievement of the European Union’s objectives in the fight against climate change, since our plants do not emit carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, avoiding the emission of many more tons of carbon dioxide than we generate through our daily business activities.

Environmental protection

Solaria develops its activity in harmony with the environment, being the protection of biodiversity a fundamental element. Thus, in all the projects that the Company carries out, it acts in a respectful manner, avoiding the construction of photovoltaic plants in areas or lands with environmental protection (natural, agricultural or archaeological).
environmental protection (natural, agricultural or archaeological).

It is important to highlight that the Board of Directors approved, during 2022, the Biodiversity Protection Policy, to reinforce Solaria’s commitment to these issues.

For each of the projects, Solaria always carries out an environmental impact study prior to the construction of the solar plant, where the current and foreseeable effects of the Company’s activities on the environment and biodiversity are considered, both for the construction phase and for the operation and dismantling phases, as well as an environmental and landscape integration plan, which establishes the guidelines that will govern the restoration and environmental and landscape integration of the projects, thus mitigating the negative effects on the landscape, integrating them into the environment.

All the Environmental Impact Studies, in addition to including a complete bibliographic study of fauna associated or present in the locations where the facilities are planned, as well as their immediate surroundings, are completed with an in-situ fauna study, lasting 12 months, in which the species present during all the main phases of the biological cycle (pre-nuptial migration, reproduction, post-nuptial migration and wintering) are inventoried.
Once the environmental impact has been assessed, Solaria proposes measures aimed at eliminating, minimizing or compensating the possible negative environmental effects that may be generated by the project during its construction or operation, and that will remedy the possible impacts that the construction of a photovoltaic plant would have on the environment.
would have on the environment.
The maintenance of the land in the case of Solaria is very simple. There is no impact whatsoever on the land, nor are solar plants built using concrete or other heavy materials.

It is important to highlight that no phytosanitary products, pesticides, biocides, rodenticides (herbicides in general) are used, which is a great benefit since there is no contamination of the soil or aquifers (the plants are located in lands where dry farming has traditionally been developed, which suffered from this type of product) and no intoxication of the fauna that inhabits the land is caused. As indicated above, there is no water consumption in the solar plants either, thus avoiding the installation of pipes.

The consequence of not using herbicides is that vegetation grows, which shades and reduces the efficiency of the solar panels, as well as increasing the risk of fire. To avoid grass or bushes there are two options: mechanical clearing (using machines, which involves pollution and cost) or the option that Solaria is committed to: tooth clearing, with sheep, favoring extensive livestock farming in rural areas, giving protection to livestock and peace of mind for farmers, as well as avoiding the costs of moving the animals and their feed, and creating positive synergies in rural areas.

In addition to sheep, the solar plants are perfectly compatible with the fauna and flora of the territories, which are inhabited by avian species, which install their nests in the solar plants, terrestrial mammals such as foxes, rabbits, wildcats, roe deer, etc. Even lodges have been established for insects or bats.
for insects or bats. The Company has also signed partnerships with beekeepers in the areas where it is present to allocate areas of the solar plants to beekeeping. The Company is in the process of developing other agricultural projects compatible with the solar plants, for example,
lavender plantations. All these initiatives that the Company is developing are included in what is commonly referred to as “agrovoltaic technology”.

Solaria is fully involved in assuming commitments in the areas where it is located and one of them is the promotion of the traditional uses of the territory, both in agriculture and livestock, giving priority to farmers and livestock farmers who apply these practices.

Finally, it is important to note that prior to the start of the projects, the Company establishes a public exposure period in which all the organizations and persons affected by the project are informed, giving all of them the opportunity to present allegations.
Furthermore, and in the event that any significant environmental problem is detected, the Company has a large number of agreements in land adjacent to – or close to – the land initially used for which, in the event of a significant risk, it would be possible to partially modify the implementation using that land in order to avoid negative impacts.

Additionally, Solaria does not cause any light pollution and takes all measures to avoid any noise in its activity, among others, not working at night, not working during the nesting period, establishing maximum allowed speeds, machinery control (ITV, periodical revisions and others), etc. As for light pollution, the plants are not illuminated at night, so the Company does not cause any light pollution.

Carbon footprint

At Solaria we are totally convinced that global warming is an increasingly serious problem. For this reason, we put all the measures we have within our reach to fight climate change and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that will end up destroying our planet.

In addition to generating emission-free energy, we have set specific targets to reduce emissions inherent to our business activities, such as electricity consumption, transportation, maintenance machinery for our solar plants, etc.

Our emission reduction targets are ambitious and we are working towards carbon neutrality, both our own and in our supply chain.

It is worth mentioning that we have recently considerably increased the number of hybrid cars in Solaria’s vehicle fleet, as part of our Hybrid Fleet Plan for the reduction of CO2 emissions, and electricity has been replaced by renewable energy at 100% of the company’s Spanish, Italian and Portuguese facilities. 

Today, 97,40% of our electricity consumption comes from renewable sources.

In addition to emissions reduction initiatives, and despite the fact that the Company’s carbon footprint is considerably lower than the rest of the companies in the sector, Solaria annually offsets the tons of carbon dioxide emitted by acquiring carbon credits.

In this regard, it should be noted that the carbon dioxide offsets carried out by Solaria are voluntary, since Solaria is not a party subject to any regulated carbon market, since it emits less carbon dioxide than that established by the reference standards. So the offsets carried out by Solaria are voluntary in order to reassert the Company’s commitment to decarbonisation.