Sustainably-Focused Concrete Utility Pole Manufacturing Facility Opens with Anticipated 100% Self-Generated Clean Energy
July 13 2023 - 3:16PM
Business Wire
Valmont, one of the largest producers of
utility structures in North America, is the first to sustainably
commercialize an eco-friendly concrete product at scale in the GHG
heavy concrete utility pole industry.
Valmont® Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), a global leader that
provides vital infrastructure and advances agricultural
productivity while driving innovation through technology, today
announced the grand opening of a sustainably-focused concrete
utility pole manufacturing facility in Bristol, Indiana to support
the green energy transition to electrification. The facility, a
model for Valmont, one of the largest producers of utility
structures in North America, is projected to improve its CO2
avoidance by more than 400 tons from this plant by the end of 2023,
by implementing a proprietary concrete mix. Additionally, the
facility features an onsite solar array designed to offset 100% of
the plant’s electricity usage. Valmont partnered with Ameresco, a
leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer,
to build the solar array.
“The eco-concrete utility pole product launching at the Bristol
facility and its onsite solar array showcase Valmont’s focus as an
industrial technology company delivering disruptive technologies to
lead and transform the industries we serve,” said Aaron Schapper,
Group President, Infrastructure, Valmont. “As part of the long-term
need for critical infrastructure investment, we recognize the vital
role transmission, distribution and substation structures will play
in the energy transition super cycle as well as the importance of
sustainability in the products, services and solutions we deliver
that conserve resources and improve life. How we deliver is just as
important as what we deliver.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Valmont on the solar
installation at the Bristol facility,” said Lou Maltezos, EVP,
Ameresco. “Valmont’s decision to incorporate clean and renewable
energy sources into their production facility shows innovative
leadership in the manufacturing and industrial space. We are
excited to play a role in the integration of clean power into
production facilities of the future.”
The solar array includes 70 single-axis trackers from Valmont’s
own award-winning ConvertTM solar tracker solution, which produces
up to 25% more energy generation than fixed in-place racking by
following the sun for optimized generation throughout the day. The
solar array at Bristol is intended to offset 100% of the facility’s
annual electric energy usage and is designed to generate more than
900,000 kilowatt hours of green electricity per year, potentially
making the facility Scope II Net Zero.
Valmont is the first in the industry to create utility
transmission and distribution poles at scale with lower GHG
emissions by lowering cement usage, a product that accounts for a
significant amount of the world’s CO2 emissions. The facility is
incorporating a concrete mix which utilizes supplemental cementious
materials of steel slag, such as waste material from furnace-burned
steel production, creating emissions reduction with the use of
these low GHG producing ingredients. Slag-cement has been used for
decades and has proven effective in multiple applications for
strength, endurance, and sustainability but has never been used at
scale in utility pole production. Additionally, Valmont plans to
fully transition all six of its concrete utility pole facilities
across the country to the eco-concrete mixture within the next 12
months. This rollout could contribute more than 12,000 tons of CO2
avoidance annually across these manufacturing facilities.
The Bristol facility is the first concrete utility pole plant
built in the Northeast/Midwest region of the country, meeting the
ever-growing demand of the area. This facility provides customers
with additional utility pole options while improving freight costs
and reducing emissions from transportation. It’s centrifugally
spun, pre-stressed concrete process also reduces weight while
maintaining strength. The facility boosts the local community and
will continue to grow as the facility ramps up to full operations
by 2025, adding more jobs to the current team of nearly 40 already
on site. This facility and its jobs will play a key role in the
future of this market.
Current estimates suggest that more than $21T will need to be
invested in the electric grid by 2050 to meet the growing
electrification demand in the U.S. market, with estimates that U.S.
transmission capacity alone must increase by approximately 60%.
Valmont’s Bristol facility, concrete pole product line and overall
utility product offering will be extremely valuable in supporting
this growth. “Grid hardening has fundamentally changed the utility
pole market and we are innovating with a sustainably focused
mindset to meet the demand,” Schapper remarked.
Additional Information
Quotable Video with Expanded Information
About Valmont Industries, Inc.
For over 75 years, Valmont has been a global leader in creating
vital infrastructure and advancing agricultural productivity.
Today, we remain committed to doing more with less by innovating
through technology. Learn more about how we’re Conserving
Resources. Improving Life.® at valmont.com.
Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that
management has made in light of experience in the industries in
which Valmont operates, as well as management’s perceptions of
historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments
and other factors believed to be appropriate under the
circumstances. As you read and consider this release, you should
understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance
or results. They involve risks, uncertainties (some of which are
beyond Valmont’s control) and assumptions. Although management
believes that these forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could
affect Valmont’s actual financial results and cause them to differ
materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking
statements. These factors include among other things, the
continuing and developing effects of the pandemic including the
effects of the outbreak on the general economy and the specific
economic effects on the Company’s business and that of its
customers and suppliers, risk factors described from time to time
in Valmont’s reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, as
well as future economic and market circumstances, industry
conditions, company performance and financial results, operating
efficiencies, availability and price of raw material, availability
and market acceptance of new products, product pricing, domestic
and international competitive environments, geopolitical risks, and
actions and policy changes of domestic and foreign governments. The
Company cautions that any forward-looking statement included in
this press release is made as of the date of this press release and
the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statement.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230713547038/en/
Megan Nicolaisen Kim Ronkin Casey Solar-press@valmont.com
Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI)
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