Chemicals giant Covestro has signed an agreement with Danish energy supplier Ørsted covering the delivery of ‘green’ energy.
Starting in 2025, Ørsted will start providing renewable wind energy to the company for a contracted 10-year period.
The energy will be delivered from the yet-to-be built Borkum Riffgrund 3 windfarm, located off the German island of the same name. The windfarm will have the capacity to produce up to 900MW of energy.
The power purchase agreement (PPA) will deliver 100MW of power to Covestro. This is described as being sufficient to power up to 300,000 homes.
This is the first major corporate supply agreement for green electricity from new plants in Germany. It is also being billed as ‘an unprecedented step’ for the chemical industry in Europe.
"By purchasing green electricity we are underpinning our comprehensive sustainability strategy and preparing ourselves for the expected rise in energy prices and CO2 costs," said Covestro CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann. "We assume that this will enable us to inspire and motivate our customers and corresponding value chains towards sustainable industrial production."
Steilemann added: “"At the same time, we also hope that the cooperation with Ørsted will stimulate the accelerated expansion of renewable energies in Germany."
Covestro stated that the PPA shows offshore wind can be a reliable source of green power delivering the large volumes required by energy-intensive industries.
The energy will be used to power Covestro production sites in Germany. The company operates three plants in North Rhine-Westphalia and another in Schleswig.
The plants produce performance plastics and chemical intermediaries for foams, coatings and films.