29 Apr 2021 09:01
Press Release 29 April 2021
PJSC Polyus
Renewables cover 100% of Polyus energy consumption
Polyus (LSE, MOEX: PLZL) ("Polyus", "the Company", and together with its subsidiaries - "the group"), announces that the group has acquired I-REC green certificates to offset emissions from the remaining share of Polyus' energy consumption not yet directly met by renewable energy sources. Combined with the large-scale hydropower supply contracts the Company signed earlier, this means Polyus now covers 100% of its electricity demand with renewable energy.
The certificates acquired by the group for 1Q 2021 represent a total of 303.5 GWh produced from renewable energy sources. TGC-1 (Nizhne-Svirskaya HPP-9 and Verkhne-Svirskaya HPP-12 as generating facilities) and Vitimenergosbyt (Mamakanskaya HPP as generating facility) acted as the certificate issuers. The transaction with TGC-1 was conducted on the cloud platform of the Sberbank Blockchain Laboratory, where transactions with such certificates are recorded.
The Company expects the amount of I-REC certificates purchased to decline starting 2Q 2021 following the recent agreement for the supply of environmentally friendly electricity generated by the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant to Polyus' Krasnoyarsk Business Unit.
Pavel Grachev, Chief Executive Officer of PJSC Polyus, commented:
"Polyus has now become the first major gold mining company globally to cover all of its electricity needs with renewable energy sources. The transition to renewable energy represents a crucial part of the global economy's transformation in our fight against climate change, and is of paramount importance for our Company. We hope that both Russian and international peers will be encouraged to follow our lead in supporting the advancement of renewables, which is in all of our interests."
Vadim Vederchik, Managing Director of TGC-1 PJSC:
"TGC-1's power generating assets include both cogeneration power plants and hydropower plants, effectively combing their advantages. The CO2-free electricity generated by our hydropower plants supports our partners in delivering their sustainable development strategies: decarbonizing their production, ensuring compliance with environmental standards, and minimizing exposure to carbon taxes when exporting products to Europe."
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank:
"The agreement between Polyus and TGC-1 demonstrates that using certificates to make energy consumption greener has become both convenient and popular. It promotes the development of renewable energy sources, and Sberbank, in turn, is becoming the conduit through which companies are moving towards more sustainable production and reducing their negative impact on the environment. We are preparing to conduct similar transactions with a number of major clients. By introducing such green instruments, we are contributing to the ESG transformation of the Russian economy".
I-REC certificates represent documented records of certain amounts of energy produced from renewable sources. Certificates can be issued by energy producers and purchased by third-party legal entities. I-REC certificates are a standardized and globally recognized mechanism to compensate for emissions and support the advancement of renewable energy.
Polyus intends to continue to purchase I-REC certificates to fully offset energy consumed from non-renewable sources. In this way, the group intends to cover 100% of the electricity it consumes via direct green energy supply and the purchase of I-REC certificates.
Acquiring green certificates represents one of the mechanisms for Polyus to implement its long-term transition to renewable energy, as part of its decarbonization pathway. The Company is currently developing its climate strategy which will comprise a set of measures related to renewable energy.
Polyus
Polyus is the world's fourth-largest gold mining company by production volumes, with the third-largest attributable gold reserves and the lowest production costs among major global gold producers.
The company's principal operations are located in Siberia and the Russian Far East: Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Magadan regions and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Investor and Media contact
Victor Drozdov, Director
Communications & Investor Relations (CIR) Department
+7 (495) 641 33 77
drozdovvi@polyus.com
Forward looking statement
This announcement may contain "forward-looking statements" concerning Polyus and/or Polyus group. Generally, the words "will", "may", "should", "could", "would", "can", "continue", "opportunity", "believes", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "estimates" or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to future capital expenditures and business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Polyus' and/or Polyus group's operations. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Polyus' and/or Polyus group's ability to control or estimate precisely and therefore undue reliance should not be placed on such statements which speak only as at the date of this announcement. Polyus and/or any Polyus group company assumes no obligation in respect of, and does not intend to update, these forward-looking statements, except as required pursuant to applicable law.