September 27, 2021

Saur and ENGIE to achieve 100% renewable energy in 2022

Saur and ENGIE announce the signing of a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement for 40GWh of renewable electricity a year.

This confirms the ambition of the Saur Group, an historic operator in water and sanitation services, to use 100% renewable electricity for its activities by 2022.

The contract, signed on September 27, 2021, provides for the production of 40GWh of electricity – equivalent to the power consumption of 2,500 households – at a fixed price over four years.

The renewable credentials of this hydroelectricity are ensured by guarantees of origin issued by hydroelectric plants operated by SHEM (Société Hydro Electrique du Midi), a subsidiary of ENGIE. Delivery will begin on January 1, 2022.

This contract is the first step in Saur’s objective of achieving 100% renewable energy. It fully illustrates the strategic approach adopted by the Group, which approaches all of its activities in order to have a positive impact on the environment, water and all of its stakeholders.

This is a key contract between a Group specializing in water and sanitation management, committed to protecting water and supporting communities and businesses with their ecological transition projects, and a supplier that is the leader in renewable energies in France and the third largest French hydroelectric producer.

Christophe Tanguy, Senior Executive Vice-President Group Operations of the Saur Group, said: “This partnership perfectly illustrates our collaborative approach to protecting water and our belief that it is by working together, with our local authority customers and key players such as ENGIE, that we will be able to generate a positive impact on the whole of our ecosystem. We want to promote a global approach in favor of the ecological transition, incorporating the relationship to energy consumption necessary to carry out our activities, and making the consumption of renewable energy a performance indicator for the entire Group.”

“We are proud to be part of this fantastic initiative in the water sector by supporting the Saur Group in its desire to achieve carbon-free electricity consumption while being part of a local approach,” emphasized Édouard Neviaski, CEO of ENGIE Global Energy Management. “This contract is a very good example of our ability to unite the multiple areas of expertise within ENGIE in order to make them available to our customers. ENGIE is therefore involved throughout the PPA chain, from asset sourcing to the agreement’s inclusion of electricity supplied to sites operated by Saur.”

This contract is entirely in line with the Saur Group’s sustainable development roadmap, supported by nine ambitious commitments built around three key focuses:

  • Preserve and safeguard the quality and quantity of water;
  • Develop and support regions;
  • Encourage employee development.

In the short term, this objective is supported by a precise action plan:

  • Continuous energy-efficiency efforts: the Saur Group is ISO 50001 certified and is committed to reducing its energy consumption by 6% by 2023, by adopting new technologies to improve the energy efficiency of its operations (treatment, pumping, etc.);
  • Systematic inclusion of energy options in new public service concession agreements (solar panels and hydroelectric micro-turbines/renewable energy production on-site, local energy purchasing, energy saving certificates, and guarantees of local origin);
  • Examination of solar opportunities for existing agreements, assessment of potential projects and promotion of local production to our customers;
  • And development of new strategic partnerships in France and abroad.

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