APM Terminals Inland Services Uruguay (also known as Montevideo Port Services SA) switched on 648 solar panels this month, capable of producing 228.6 MWh per year, enough to meet up to 90 percent of the facilities entire annual consumption.
By switching to their own renewable energy source, Inland Services Uruguay, the largest equipment maintenance and repair provider in the country, will reduce its CO2 emissions by almost 50 tonnes per year. To put this in perspective, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency it would take around 1,300 seedling trees 10 years to absorb this amount of CO2.
As a result of the project, which took 45 days to install, up to 90 percent of the facilities total energy consumption will be generated by solar panels, including container operations such as reefer plugs, Pre-Trip Inspections and repairs.
“We’re proud to celebrate this milestone, which sets the benchmark for sustainability in Uruguay and sends the right signal to all our stakeholders about our commitment to tackling climate change,” said Juan Robatto, General Manager of Inland Services Argentina & Uruguay. “We’re now able to offer our customers a competitive as well as completely green product.
The company’s values are also shared with its customers. “Hapag Lloyd significantly values that logistics suppliers have management systems in place to minimize carbon emissions,” said Eduardo Lanaro – Port Operations Coordinator for Hapag Lloyd. “We appreciate this APM Terminals initiative, which is totally aligned with our values on environmental care.”
To promote this advancement a Pre-Trip Inspection (PTI) sticker will be included on all containers to reflect the use of clean energy and include the country’s own “Uruguay Natural” branding.
This is not APM Terminals first investment of this kind. In 2016, APM Terminals Mumbai installed solar panels capable of producing more than 500 MWh, with plans to continue expanding capacity. This was particularly significant in India where approximately 70 percent of electrical power is generated by burning fossil fuels.
“We feel extremely proud to be part of a group with such a strong tradition of caring for the environment and actively taking social responsibility,” commented German Garcia Ghigo – Maersk Uruguay Sales Manager. “APM Terminals in Uruguay is bringing our values to life by propelling clean alternatives such as solar energy.”