THE WHAT? BASF and Orsted have signed a 25-year fixed price corporate power purchase agreement, under which BASF will offtake the output of 186 megawatts from Orsted’s planned wind farm in the North Sea. With its 25-year term, it’s said to be the longest CPPA for offshore wind ever announced.

THE DETAILS The new facility has a total installed capacity of 900 megawatts and is due to go into full commercial operation in 2025.

“In the common fight against climate change, it’s partners like BASF that will make the difference,” said Mads Nipper, CEO of Ørsted. “The chemical sector has a challenging path towards decarbonisation, but it will also make one of the biggest contributions. For this reason, countries like Germany must respond to the enormous demand for renewable electricity by urgently making more seabed available for offshore wind projects and by increasing its ambitions for deploying large-scale renewable energy sources such as offshore wind power. Offshore wind in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is an abundant source of green electricity that can be unleashed through clearer and more ambitious policies. With our vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy, we aim to further accelerate the build out of renewable energy and support partners like BASF in realising their climate ambitions.”

THE WHY? Dr Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, explains, “This supply agreement with Ørsted is another important step in securing additional renewable energy for BASF. BASF wants to reduce its CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2030 compared with 2018. To achieve this ambitious goal, we will have to replace large amounts of fossil energy with renewable energy within the coming years. Ørsted can provide the required additional quantities through the construction of new wind farms to support us in our energy transformation.”