The CHP plant is constructed in partnership with power development company ContourGlobal.
See more pictures from the opening of the plant.
“The opening of the CHP plant represents a milestone to ensure the sustainable development of our operations, and of the communities we serve,” said Doros Constantinou, CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic. “Across all of our 28 territories, we’ve been working to increase efficiencies and reduce CO2 emissions, the main culprit in climate change.”
Joseph Brandt, president and CEO of ContourGlobal, said: “Producing consumer products sustainably is one of the key challenges of our time. Through our partnership with Coca-Cola Hellenic, we’ve recombined existing technologies to create an innovative energy facility at Coca-Cola Hellenic’s bottling plant in Romania. Our CHP plant is highly energy efficient and substantially reduces CO2 emissions. We’re proud that Coca-Cola Hellenic chose ContourGlobal to develop and operate these innovative facilities throughout Europe and Africa.”
The development of the Ploiesti plant follows a pilot project in Hungary in 2006 that reduced CO2 emissions by 43%, equivalent to a 20% reduction across all 80 beverage production plants – well ahead of the 2020 deadline for emission reductions set by the European Union.
Professor Geoffrey Boulton from the University of Edinburgh, who chairs the Energy Committee of the Royal Society (the world’s oldest national science academy) and is very active in EU preparations for the landmark climate summit in Copenhagen, said: “Coca-Cola Hellenic is taking responsibility and leadership by collaborating with technology company ContourGlobal in reducing emissions. It represents an early step in responding to what is probably the most difficult challenge that the human race has ever collectively had to face, that of global climate and planetary sustainability.”
The CHP plant supplies highly efficient, clean electricity as well as heat and cooling for the soft drink production facility. At the same time, clean electricity is delivered to the local grid, providing energy efficient power for the surrounding community in Ploiesti.
Coca-Cola Hellenic and ContourGlobal will open up to three more plants this year, with others following in 2010 and beyond.
Another newly introduced feature of the facility in Ploiesti is an intelligent, fully automated, mega High-Bay warehouse which is the first of its kind in Romania. The system takes palletised products from the six production lines via a conveyor and allows for storage and retrieval of stock using eleven automated cranes. The on-site storage facility heightens efficiency and also provides Coca-Cola Hellenic with the flexibility to expand capacity as its business further develops.
Source: Coca-Cola Hellenic
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