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Vattenfall News
Vattenfall's sustainable procurement slashes carbon footprint from wind farm construction
By next autumn, Swedish Bruzaholm wind farm will produce fossil free power and also be an example of how sustainable procurement can spur innovative ideas and bring the carbon footprint from construction to a minimum.
group.vattenfall.com
Low carbon concrete is key to the wind supply chain to reach its net zero targets. Here it is used for the foundations in the Swedish Bruzaholm project.
In Bruzaholm in the south of Sweden, Vattenfall is erecting a 21 turbine onshore windfarm. By autumn 2025, it will deliver an annual output of 460 Gwh of fossil free power, an important contribution to the electricity supply in southern Sweden.
What truly sets this project apart is the meticulous effort dedicated to minimizing the carbon footprint at every step of the construction process.
The most tangible example of this commitment lies in the concrete used. In Bruzaholm, the carbon emissions from the concrete are the lowest possible, even lower than what is typically classified as eco-concrete.
“The concrete we use in Bruzaholm has a CO2 footprint of 211 kg CO2 equivalents per cubic metre, this is 12 per cent lower than our own internal target for Eco-Concrete. The extra price premium is less than 2 per cent. As we will need some 7500 cubic meters for the 21 foundations, it will make a significant difference to the CO2 impact of the project but minimal impact to the budget,” Besse says.
According to the supplier the concrete achieves a 40% lower CO2 footprint compared to the industry benchmark for conventional concrete. The comparison is based on carbon emissions data, using a reference value provided by the Swedish Concrete Association, Svensk Betong.
Sustainability integrated in the procurement processes
Low carbon concrete is key to the wind supply chain to reach its net zero targets. But for Vattenfall, this was only one of the measurements when planning for the Bruzaholm wind farm. Equally important was how the contractor for the ground works was selected.
Suppliers often face a difficult choice: submit the cheapest possible tender or include sustainable measures that inevitably increase costs.
For this project, Vattenfall asked suppliers to submit CO2 emission reduction ideas with independent pricing, which could be implemented as part of the project. This allowed suppliers to present the lowest possible base price while separately offering a list of options to lower emissions. Sustainable measures were a key criterion in the scoring and selection process. The contract was awarded to Kanonaden Entreprenad, and a number of their proposals were included in the final contract.
“Kanonaden Entreprenad, was the perfect match for us. To use this extra CO2 lean concrete was actually their suggestion, and they also brought a good deal of other ideas, from using bio diesel for all site machinery, to the use of recycled plastic pipe for conduits and site signage, and planning the groundworks to avoid unnecessary transportation of rock masses to and from site. This model for procuring goods and services has proved to be really efficient and successful for all parties, and will now be used as a blueprint for coming projects,” Arthur Besse says.
www.vattenfall.com
In Bruzaholm in the south of Sweden, Vattenfall is erecting a 21 turbine onshore windfarm. By autumn 2025, it will deliver an annual output of 460 Gwh of fossil free power, an important contribution to the electricity supply in southern Sweden.
What truly sets this project apart is the meticulous effort dedicated to minimizing the carbon footprint at every step of the construction process.
The most tangible example of this commitment lies in the concrete used. In Bruzaholm, the carbon emissions from the concrete are the lowest possible, even lower than what is typically classified as eco-concrete.
“The concrete we use in Bruzaholm has a CO2 footprint of 211 kg CO2 equivalents per cubic metre, this is 12 per cent lower than our own internal target for Eco-Concrete. The extra price premium is less than 2 per cent. As we will need some 7500 cubic meters for the 21 foundations, it will make a significant difference to the CO2 impact of the project but minimal impact to the budget,” Besse says.
According to the supplier the concrete achieves a 40% lower CO2 footprint compared to the industry benchmark for conventional concrete. The comparison is based on carbon emissions data, using a reference value provided by the Swedish Concrete Association, Svensk Betong.
Sustainability integrated in the procurement processes
Low carbon concrete is key to the wind supply chain to reach its net zero targets. But for Vattenfall, this was only one of the measurements when planning for the Bruzaholm wind farm. Equally important was how the contractor for the ground works was selected.
Suppliers often face a difficult choice: submit the cheapest possible tender or include sustainable measures that inevitably increase costs.
For this project, Vattenfall asked suppliers to submit CO2 emission reduction ideas with independent pricing, which could be implemented as part of the project. This allowed suppliers to present the lowest possible base price while separately offering a list of options to lower emissions. Sustainable measures were a key criterion in the scoring and selection process. The contract was awarded to Kanonaden Entreprenad, and a number of their proposals were included in the final contract.
“Kanonaden Entreprenad, was the perfect match for us. To use this extra CO2 lean concrete was actually their suggestion, and they also brought a good deal of other ideas, from using bio diesel for all site machinery, to the use of recycled plastic pipe for conduits and site signage, and planning the groundworks to avoid unnecessary transportation of rock masses to and from site. This model for procuring goods and services has proved to be really efficient and successful for all parties, and will now be used as a blueprint for coming projects,” Arthur Besse says.
www.vattenfall.com