The deal is set to reduce carbon emissions by more than 95 per cent from the electricity used at Almac's Global HQ in Craigavon, thanks to the windfarm generating almost all of the site's power.
Almac's share of the wind project will deliver 34GWh of renewable electricity annually. Murley, owned by NTR Renewable Energy Income Fund II, is a 21.6MW windfarm with six wind turbines currently in late-stage construction and expected to be operational by July 2024.
In recent years, Almac's Craigavon site has experienced substantial growth, marked by an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds announced in 2022. The campus presently accommodates over 4,000 employees out of Almac's global workforce of 7,000, providing crucial support to pharmaceutical and biotech firms in their drug development endeavours. This reduction in Almac's carbon footprint marks a significant stride in the Group's journey towards achieving its carbon reduction objectives.
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Signing this agreement follows a number of recent steps taken by the Group to support their 2045 net zero target. These include joining the Science Based targets Initiative (SBTi) which defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting.
Niall Harkin, Executive Director, Almac Group said:
"We are delighted to partner with NTR on this exciting project which will allow us to power the operations at our Craigavon site with fully certified renewable energy.
"Almac's participation in this project is a crucial step on our journey to net zero and will significantly reduce carbon emissions from the electricity we consume.
"As a global leader in providing a range of expert services and support across the drug development lifecycle, it is crucial that we demonstrate our commitment to the long-term sustainability goals of the sector. I am hugely encouraged by the progress that we are making on our climate journey and proud to mark this significant milestone we announce today."
Francisco Del Rio, Associate Director. of Power Sales at NTR, said: "We’re hugely excited to be partnering with Almac, an innovative pharmaceutical business based in Northern Ireland, on this long-term corporate power purchase agreement. Corporate PPAs play a critical role in not only supporting business’ sustainability goals but having a wider impact on driving the clean energy transition across Northern Ireland and the rest of Europe."
