Sioen generates renewable energy for and on its plants in Mouscron, Belgium

SDG 7 states that together we should ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Sioen is contributing to realising this goal. Additionally, we’re contributing to goal 12, “establishing sustainable production patterns” and to SDG 9, “building resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation."

Sioen generates renewable energy on Mouscron site

Just like many other companies, we are looking for opportunities to generate renewable energy ourselves. Over the last few years, most companies made the shift from traditional energy to green energy. This results in a very real possibility that clean electricity becomes scarce. That’s why we look into the various possibilities of generating green energy ourselves. Sioen has, therefore, made significant investments in installing solar panels.

Solar panels on weaving mill

In 2014, photovoltaic panels were installed on the weaving building. This installation includes 892 panels with a capacity of 249.76 Kwp. The production started in September 2014.

Below you can see the yield of these solar panels over the years

Scan renewable energy options

As the name implies, renewable energy is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, including carbon-neutral sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.

We’ve been looking into many sources of renewable energy. Below you’ll find the list of the rejected and retained projects.

Rejected

The following ideas were rejected during the scans of renewable energies:

  1. Wind power: A preliminary study was rejected by the municipality because of the proximity of the local residents.
  2. Deep geothermal energy: The geothermal project consists of connecting to an existing geothermal well. As there is no well nearby, this project was rejected. We speak of deep geothermal energy with wells from 1 500 to 2 000 m deep with water of about 60 °C.
  3. Hydraulics: The site has no hydraulic potential nearby.
  4. Thermal solar panels: The site consumes practically no domestic hot water, which would justify the installation of solar thermal panels.
  5. Moist biomass: The site does not generate any waste, allowing the production and valorisation of wet biomass.

The options selected are examined in the following paragraphs.

Accepted for further research

There are 2 ideas that are accepted to thoroughly study. They are related to the heating and operation of the CDU building at the Mouscron (Belgium) site. CDU is the abbreviation of “Central Distribution Unit” where we stock and distribute the Sioen garments we produce with our Sioen Apparel brands. The joint investment is close to 600 000 Euro. For the following projects a feasibility study is started and/or ongoing.

  1. Dry biomass
  2. Solar cells

Dry biomass

The exploitation of dry biomass could be envisaged to replace the current gas boiler at the warehouse/ distribution centre (CDU). The calculation is made for a current gas boiler consumption of 1 039 541 kWh.

Impact

Gas 1 039 541 kWh energy saving
Emissions 188 567 kg CO₂ reduction
Investments 103 950 EUR

Extra Solar cells

The calculation is carried out for an installation of a 200 m² solar panels park and taking into account the green certificates.

Impact

Electricity 21 250 kWh energy savings
Emissions 10 672 kg CO₂ reductions
Investments 62 500 EURO

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