Walk the Talk

How Petrol Group Is Responding to Changes In The Global Energy System

February 2022 Business

Barbara Matijašič

JOURNALIST AT THE ADRIATIC

Placing sustainable development right in the centre of its mission and business model is a top priority for Petrol Group. The company’s main business activity is trading in oil derivatives, gas, and other energy products, with a strong orientation towards a low-carbon future.

Petrol generates more than 80% of all sales revenue in this area, which puts the company into a leading position regarding market share on the Slovenian market.

COP26 reaffirmed a commitment that we all must take real action. “We believe we can ‘decisively’ contribute to energy efficiency and more efficient energy use; as well as increasing the share of renewable energy sources. In addition to lower carbon footprint and savings, energy efficiency improvement projects bring even greater business success, whether we are talking about industry, business users or the public sector,” they comment in Petrol Group when asked which commitments, ideas, solutions or good practices presented at COP26 they identified as excellent and worthy of future consideration. “Our energy system optimizations focus on energy savings, better working conditions, higher productivity and reduced waste,” they add.

Investment Are Paving the Way to Green Transition

For the 2021–2025 period, Petrol Group anticipates investments totalling €698 million, of which 35% is earmarked for energy transition. They also manage, develop and build wind, solar and hydroelectric power plants in locations where it is possible to use the potential of wind, sun, and water in an economically efficient and environmentally friendly way.

Energy-Efficient Projects

With its projects in energy efficiency, Petrol Group is already present in more than 80 cities in the region. By 2025, energy renovation projects will achieve as much as 73 GWh of energy savings for end customers.In 2021, Petrol completed one of the largest projects of its kind in the Serbian town of Zajecar. By replacing almost 10,000 energy-inefficient lights with new LED lights, the Municipality of Zaječar is set to reduce costs by more than €1 million over 15 years, and reduce emissions by more than 3,400 tons of CO2 annually. Annual electricity savings are forecast to exceed 4,700 MWh. They are also building a network of charging stations throughout Slovenia and in the region, and connecting them to a growing network in Europe. In 2025, charging infrastructure for electri vehicles will include 1,575 charging stations. Furthermore, Petrol Group is investing in renewable energy sources: by 2025, they want to achieve 160 MW of total installed capacity for renewable electricity production.

With the Glunča and Ljubač wind farms in Croatia, they produce low-carbon electricity for 45,000 average households.
Petrol is also a pioneer in the fields of energy contracting and the energy renovation of public buildings. With the first two sets of energy renovation projects in Ljubljana, they upgraded 59 buildings in the consortium, helping the Slovenian capital achieve up to €1.3 million in annual savings and reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 3,500 tons. The third phase of the project is already underway. Today, Petrol provides energy contracting ser- vices to more than 340 facilities with a total area exceeding 1 million m2.
Last but not least, Petrol is also improving the efficiency of traditional, conventional fuels. In 2021, they launched an updated family of high-quality addi- tive fuels from the Q Max family. The company is actively looking for more environmentally friendly solutions for conventional motor drives. These undoubtedly include sustainable biofuels, natural gas, partly liquefied petroleum gas, and electricity from renewable sources. They also carefully manage water – in the system of automatic car washes on their service stations, they recycle as much as 80% of the water used, while wastewater is treated at small treatment facilities where it is not yet possible to connect to the public sewer system. They also manage municipal and industrial treatment plants.

With its projects in energy efficiency, Petrol Group is already present in more than 80 cities in the region. By 2025, energy renovation projects will achieve as much as 73 GWh of energy savings for end customers.

THE ADRIATIC

This article was originally published in The Adriatic: Strategic Foresight 2022
If you want a copy, please contact us at info@adriaticjournal.com.