However, it was Tecpetrol that took the first step the year earlier. In December 2021, the oil&gas transportation and distribution company acquired 100% of the Buena Ventura Wind Farm from German ABO Wind in a solid move to enter renewable energy to meet the growing demand for clean energy. ABO Wind has been developing and building wind and solar farms and battery and hydrogen projects worldwide for 25 years. On April 4, 2022, Tenaris purchased the project from Tecpetrol of its Buena Ventura holdings as part of a pre-existing agreement. The Buena Ventura Wind Farm Park is 100,8 MW and is located in the province of Buenos Aires, 500 km away from TenarisSiderca.

Eduardo Beloqui, Energy Planning Senior Manager in Tenaris Argentina, remarked: "This is the largest investment made by Tenaris in the country in the last 40 years, and it is the first wind farm that the company builds in the world, following the commitment of reducing our CO2 emissions by 2030. In this sense, the park allows us to reduce 152,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year."

According to Beloqui, the construction process will have an important milestone in August: "We are in the steps before starting the work. We will begin to carry out the soil movement and the construction of the roads, and at the beginning of August 2022, we will receive the first anchor cages and then begin with the assembly of the bases. Not all bases are the same; some are larger than others, depending on the ground. We will place a concrete mixer plant inside the property to supply the need for concrete for the bases. In parallel, we must build two electrical substations and a six and a half km high voltage line. The generators and blades will begin to arrive at the port of Bahía Blanca, the towers will be built in Argentina, and all of them will be transported to the location in Gonzales Chaves."

Earlier in February, Tenaris had announced it would invest US$190 million to build a wind farm in that location. The development plan contemplates a total installed capacity of 100.8 megawatts (24 turbines of 4.2 MW each), a utilization factor of 57%, and a total annual electricity production of 509 GWh. The park is expected to be fully operational in mid-2023.

Obtaining energy from renewable sources is one of the critical levers to decrease the carbon footprint in industrial production worldwide, and it is among the pillars of Tenaris's strategic goals. In February 2021, Tenaris announced its plan to reduce 30% of CO2 emitted per ton of steel (vs. 2018 baseline) by 2030, to be achieved through the increased use of recycled steel scrap, boosting energy efficiency through investments and renewable energy.

Other steps Tenaris is taking to reach this goal include using a higher proportion of recycled steel scrap in the metallic mix, carrying out investments to increase energy efficiency, and using renewable energy for part of its energy requirements.

"Renewable energies have a significant role in our environmental efforts. We make steel through an electric arc route, and that is our differentiation compared to other production routes with higher CO2 intensity, explained Carolina Bengochea, Tenaris's Environment Senior Director. "We want to advance in the decarbonization of our processes, and in this sense, renewable electricity is an excellent alternative."

According to Bengochea, this scheme in Argentina gave an excellent opportunity due to climatic and geographical factors: "Not all the places we operate have favorable characteristics for renewable energy projects. Regional climatic conditions make some projects more efficient in certain places. A wind farm with a capacity factor of 55% is an exciting opportunity to exploit renewable electricity generation."

. We are changing the source of electrical energy that comes from the matrix to reduce the production of its CO2 since the wind park will be able to supply around 50% of Siderca's electricity demand, representing a 10% reduction of the emission intensity in Tenaris Siderca."

As part of the project, Tenaris has announced a contract with Vestas, a Danish-based global market leader in green, safe, and reliable control solutions for decentralized power production. Vestas pioneered the Argentine wind power market by installing the country's first commercial wind turbine in the Southern Province of Neuquén in 1991 and maintains a leading position in the country with a market share of more than 50 percent.

"This project is a milestone for Tenaris and a clear step towards reducing emissions linked to renewable electricity in our production process," said Tenaris's Southern Cone President, Javier Martínez Álvarez. Turbine delivery is scheduled for the third quarter of 2022, while commissioning is designed for the third quarter of 2023, which Vestas will supply and install. Upon completion, Vestas will also deliver a 20-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement. This agreement will optimize energy production while also providing long-term business case certainty.