Through an onsite solar plant and a new agreement to source electricity derived from wind power, our cement plant in San Pedro de Macorís expects to replace consumption of energy from fossil fuels and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

In 2015, spurred by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, CEMEX reiterated an important global commitment: an ambitious goal to reduce CO₂ emissions by 25% throughout its operations by the year 2020. One year in we have made many strides towards that goal, and in the Dominican Republic, a big part of these efforts has involved renewable energy.

Less than two years ago we took the first step with the construction of an onsite solar plant at the San Pedro de Macorís operations. The 1.5 megawatt plant has 5,040 solar panels to turn the sun’s rays into energy for our cement plant, reducing consumption of fossil fuels.

According to the plant’s director of operations, Benjamin Cabrera, the solar plant, "will allow us to produce 2.2 million kilowatt hours a year, equivalent to the energy consumption of two thousand homes.”

The project was such a success as to garner our third national award the following year from the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources for “Cleanest Production Process.” The award also highlighted our plant’s ISO 14001:2004 certification, which made us one of the first companies in the country’s construction industry to have a sustainability policy to manage environmental aspects associated with our production processes.

"CEMEX, true to its strategy to reduce carbon emissions, continues to seek new opportunities to increase the use of renewable energy in order to contribute to preserving the environment," said Carlos Emilio Gonzalez, CEMEX President in the Dominican Republic.

Now we’re taking it one step further in our continued efforts to reduce our carbon footprint in the Dominican Republic. This year we will be collaborating with Empresa Generadora de Electricidad Haina (EGE Haina), to source renewable energy for our San Pedro de Macorís plant from their Los Cocos Wind Farm. Los Cocos is the first wind farm in the Dominican Republic and has won awards from the Inter-American Development Bank, Bloomberg, and the United Nations.

This agreement will allow CEMEX to replace energy consumption from fossil fuels at its San Pedro de Macorís plant with energy from renewable sources.

In addition to our initiatives for safeguarding biodiversity, in 2015 we invested almost 6 million dollars on efficiency measures at the San Pedro de Macorís plant that should enable our goal to continue driving sustainable value.

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries. Celebrating its 110th anniversary, CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a sustainable future.