Socar Feeds Filling Stations With Solar Energy
SOCAR’s activity in Georgia has been invariably based on 5 key standards of Corporate Social Responsibility – developing the young, women’s rights, support to the elderly and to the disabled, industrial safety, and environment.
For further enforcement of these directions, SOCAR has successfully undertaken numerous projects all of them adhered to the main principle of modern business – transparency! It is therefore that the community is regularly informed of the Company’s objectives, and of the resources utilized while implementing this or that project.
Towards the environmental protection, SOCAR has already made a series of impressive innovative steps, among which the program on electric power generation by means of solar energy is particularly noteworthy. Within the framework of this endeavor, a yet another important utility – SOCAR’s filling station at Tbilisi Sea – was furbished with solar panels several weeks ago. Hence, the Company now has two filling stations operating on solar energy. In 2019 filling station located by the Institute of Botanic on Agmashenebeli Valley was the first one where the solar panels were furbished. The design and installation works were carried out together with the experienced civil engineers from authoritative German company Sonnershcmied, and this warrants the highest international standards where every component used throughout the works complies with the requirements of the uniform EU certificate. 2019,
The solar panels installed at the top of the filling stations, have peak capacity 39.6 kwt., assuming annual energy output up to 48,000 kwt/hrs., which will reduce CO2 emission to the atmosphere by 28.7 tons. The solar energy produced at SOCAR’s two filling stations located on Tbilisi Sea and by the Institute of Botanic on Agmashenebeli Valley, will be used for filling station including charging electric cars and for the needs of the Way Mart retail stores.
Currently, the Company is contemplating prospects of even more ambitious projects. We are talking here about building the self-contained solar power generating units, that would supply SOCAR stations with solar energy for all their operating needs. Besides, the future visions of SOCAR are including development of the chain of fast-filling stations servicing electric cars with solar energy.
It can be proudly stated now that in the Georgian oil and gas sector SOCAR is the first company that has launched implementation of wide-scale and significant projects of such nature, thus bringing the country even closer to the compliance with international environmental standards.
The use of solar energy is not the only step that SOCAR takes for the enforcement of environmental protection. After the devastating fire in Borjomi forest, SOCAR actively took part in the restoration process by planting trees on the total area of 2 ha. Furthermore, in 2019, in coordination with Georgian Government SOCAR planted trees in Tbilisi, Varketili district.
SOCAR is also proud to be a pioneer in promoting electric cars and placing electric chargers on its filling stations across Georgia.