Saint-Gobain and CVE sign a major renewable electricity supply agreement in South Africa

Paris, December 12, 2023 - Saint-Gobain has signed a renewable electricity supply agreement (Power Purchase Agreement or PPA) with CVE, an independent French renewable energy producer, to secure about 140 GWh of solar electricity in South Africa, over a 20-year period.

This PPA is expected to cover around 40% of the electrical needs of Saint-Gobain's 4 major industrial sites in the country, producing gypsum and mortars. The sites are located in Brakpan, Alrode and Germiston in the Gauteng region, as well as in Parrow, Western Cape. This will offset Saint-Gobain South Africa's CO₂ emissions from electricity (scope 2 emissions) by more than 6,800 tons per year.  

Commenting on this PPA, Othman Benjelloun-Touimi, CEO of Saint-Gobain in Africa, said: "With this PPA, Saint-Gobain will further reduce its CO₂ emissions. This renewable energy project is a new milestone on the way to meeting Saint-Gobain's commitment to reduce scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 33% by 2030 - compared to 2017 - and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050."

CVE South Africa focuses on decentralized energy projects, mainly self-consumption projects for agricultural and industrial customers, geographically located in the Western Cape (Cape Town), Gauteng (Johannesburg) and industrial areas in the hinterland and on the east coast of South Africa.

"CVE has developed in-house expertise in forming CPPAs (Corporate Power Purchase Agreements) and self-consumption projects. Our business is centred around understanding the needs of our industrial, agricultural and municipal customers. We are proud to support Saint-Gobain's renewable energy commitment in South Africa" said René Laks, Country General Manager for CVE South Africa.

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group's commitment is guided by its purpose, "MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME".

€51.2 billion in sales in 2022

168,000 employees, locations in 75 countries

Committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050

For more information about Saint-Gobain, visit https://www.saint-gobain.com/en and follow us on X @saintgobain

About CVE

CVE is a multi-country, multi-energy independent French renewable energy producer. The group develops, finances and builds solar power plants, biogas and hydrogen units, and operates them itself over the long term. CVE's aim is to create the energy models of tomorrow by producing local renewable energies to meet the needs of suppliers, businesses and local authorities, using a direct energy sales model. CVE is a B Corp company and certified ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. The group employs 420 people and plans to multiply its installed capacity by almost 4 by 2027.

CVE South Africa, the subsidiary of CVE with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, offers all-in-one solutions, including engineering, financing, constructing, operating photovoltaic systems and battery storage to provide commercial off-takers local renewable energy.

More information: https://cvesouthafrica.com

Press Relations for CVE

Stéphanie Kanoui - stephanie@agencethedesk.com - 06 11 66 00 50