Blog Post

World's Largest Solar-Powered Steel Plant: world record in Pueblo, Colorado

Apr 10, 2023

Pueblo, Colorado, United States--EVRAZ Pueblo, formerly known as the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, produces steel products including rail, seamless pipe, rod and coiled reinforcing bar; it has the largest on-site solar facility in the U.S. dedicated to a single customer, with more than 750,000 solar panels providing nearly all the plant’s annual electricity demand, thus setting the world record for being the World's Largest Solar-Powered Steel Plant, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"Lightsource bp announced that its 300 megawatt Bighorn Solar project will position EVRAZ's Pueblo steel mill as the world's first steel mill to run almost entirely on solar. The project, which is currently generating electricity into the grid and is expected to come fully online in November, is the largest on-site solar facility in the U.S. dedicated to a single customer," the Renewable Energy World reports.

"Established in 1881, EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel (then known as the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company) helped to build the American west by providing affordable steel and iron to the western territories and the nation’s expanding rail systems. Today, we produce the finest rail, seamless pipe, rod and coiled reinforcing bar available. We also offer high-quality specialty and semi-finished products that can be delivered to each customer’s exact specifications," the official website says.

"Multi-million dollar upgrades were recently made to the historic Pueblo mill, including the addition of a state-of-the-art Product Technology Center. Our expanded team of engineers, scientists and metallurgists use advanced equipment to perform on-site testing, conduct complex analytical procedures, provide customer support (like rail infrastructure life-cycle management) and develop new products.

"Our facilities feature some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world. Our steelmaking operation can produce more than 300 different grades of steel and routinely produces more than 50 variations a month. Our rod/bar mill is capable of producing high-quality rods at speeds of up to 21,000 feet of rod per minute. And our innovative rail manufacturing process results in the hardest, most durable rails produced anywhere.

"With a goal of lowering emissions in the carbon-intensive steel industry, Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel turned to solar power. Evraz North America owns the plant, located in Pueblo, Colorado," the Freedom Solar Power reports.

"The giant steel company was able to begin building the world’s largest solar-powered steel plant tucked right in the heart of the Rockies. To do this, Evraz North America (headquartered in Chicago) partnered with Xcel Energy and Lightsource BP in 2019.

"A combination of hard work, innovative ideas and a passion for renewable energy made the Bighorn Solar project possible."

"Solar-powered steel is great. The iron and steel sector is responsible for 2.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions every year, accounting for 8% of all global energy demand and 7% of energy-related carbon emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Those emissions are roughly on par with all of India’s in a year. The reason for steel’s large carbon footprint is because manufacturing it largely relies on coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, as both a feedstock and an energy source. The EVRAZ mill has been powered by coal for most of its time in operation," the GIZMODO.com reports.

"The venture claims the project will enable Xcel Energy—the utility that’s part of the partnership—to avoid 433,770 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s equivalent to removing more than 92,000 cars from the road each year. Even before this new development, the EVRAZ steel mill has been recycling scrap metal to produce rails for railway lines and other products. Solar power, Lightsource BP said, will “enable the mill to produce some of the world’s greenest steel and steel products.”

"Bighorn Solar is a 300-MW photovoltaic solar farm, developed by Lightsource bp to power the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain steel mill in Pueblo. Bighorn is at present the largest onsite solar power plant for a U.S. industrial facility, and also the first such facility in the country to be dedicated to a steel mill.Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, delivers electricity from Bighorn to the mill, one of the city’s largest employers," the powermag.com reports.

"The project operates under a 20-year, fixed-rate power purchase agreement (PPA), providing stable electricity prices that the mill needed to remain in Pueblo and continue to support more than 1,000 jobs in the local community.

"The solar farm is located on about 1,800 acres between Comanche and the steel mill. Construction began in October 2020, with the installation completed a year later. Lightsource bp sells the electricity to Xcel Energy, which then provides power to EVRAZ North America, Xcel’s largest retail electric customer in Colorado. The mill recycles scrap metal into new, clean steel."

“This project proves that even hard-to-abate sectors like steel can be decarbonized when companies come together with innovative solutions," Lightsource bp, Americas CEO Kevin Smith said. "Our collaboration with Xcel Energy and EVRAZ North America made Bighorn Solar a reality. It’s a great example of partners tackling complex issues that US industry is facing today, while at the same time preserving jobs in the manufacturing sector.”

"The Bighorn Solar project features 750,000 solar panels located primarily on 1,800 acres. Lightsource bp sells the electricity generated by the Bighorn Solar project to Xcel Energy through a 20-year power purchase agreement."

"The project is primarily located on 1,800 acres of land on EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel property in Pueblo. It is the largest on-site solar facility in the U.S. dedicated to a single customer, with more than 750,000 solar panels providing nearly all the plant’s annual electricity demand," the Denver7ABC reports.

"Worldwide, heavy industry can depend on renewable energy to power their facilities," said Kevin Smith, CEO of Americas for Lightsource bp. "This is really significant."

"Lightsource bp financed, owns and operates Bighorn Solar and sells the electricity it generates to Xcel Energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement. As part of that arrangement, EVRAZ will receive clean, renewable power and price certainty from Xcel Energy through 2041."

"The mill employs about 1,000 people and plans to add several hundred more employees as part of a $500 million expansion, expected to be completed by 2023. Local officials have said the agreement between Xcel Energy and EVRAZ was the culmination of years of effort to ensure the mill stays in Pueblo. The state approved millions of dollars in tax incentive credits," The Denver Post reports.

"Skip Herald, CEO of EVRAZ North America, called the solar project “an incredible milestone.” The more than 750,000 solar panels across 1,800 acres will supply roughly 90% of the steel mill’s power.

"Established in 1881, EVRAZ Pueblo, formerly known as the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, produces steel products including rail, seamless pipe, rod and coiled reinforcing bar."