Offshore wind farm developer Vattenfall has agreed to sell to BASF 49.5% in its offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) in the Netherlands.
Once fully commissioned it will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world and also the first one ever to be built without subsidies for the power produced, Vattenfall said.
"Vattenfall will use Hollandse Kust Zuid to supply fossil-free electricity to its customers in the Netherlands. BASF will use its electricity share to support chemical production in sites across Europe," the company said.
The purchase price for the agreed share of BASF amounts to €0.3 billion and takes into account the achieved status of the project, Vattenfall said.
Including BASF’s contribution to funding the wind farm construction, BASF’s total commitment amounts to around €1.6 billion. Closing of the transaction is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.
Offshore construction of the wind farm will start in July 2021. Once fully operational, the wind farm will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world with 140 wind turbines and a total installed capacity of 1.5 Gigawatt, Vattenfall said.
"The Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm will also be the first fully merchant offshore wind farm in the world which does not receive any price subsidies for the power produced. The project is expected to become fully operational in 2023. A significant part of the electricity production of HKZ is reserved for Vattenfall’s Dutch customers," the company added.
"This wind farm will be an important building block to supply our Antwerp Verbund site and other European sites with renewable electricity It is the first major investment of BASF in facilities for renewable power. With this investment we are securing significant volumes of electricity from renewable sources for BASF, which is a key element of our transformation towards climate neutrality”, said Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.
“Vattenfall and BASF share a common objective of phasing out greenhouse gas emissions from our operations. With this cooperation, Vattenfall once more proves that partnerships with industries are a key element to accelerate the European energy transition across sectors. I am particularly proud that we can do this, while at the same time securing the delivery of fossil-free electricity to our Dutch customers,” said Anna Borg, President and CEO of Vattenfall.
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