Chemicals Giant Buys Into 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid

Vattenfall and BASF have agreed the sale of 49.5 per cent of Vattenfall’s Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

Once fully commissioned in 2023, HKZ 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 will use HKZ to supply fossil-free electricity to its customers in the Netherlands. The chemicals giantBASF will use its electricity share to support chemical production in sites across Europe.

The purchase price amounts to EUR 0.3 billion and takes into account the achieved status of the project. Including BASF’s contribution to fund the wind farm construction, BASF’s total commitment amounts to around EUR 1.6 billion. Closing of the transaction is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.

Installation of the monopile foundations at the wind farm will start in July 2021. Once fully operational, the wind farm will comprise 140 Siemens Gamesa 11 MW wind turbines.

HKZ will also be the first fully merchant offshore wind farm in the world which does not receive any price subsidies for the power produced.

BASF is acquiring the electricity from the wind farm for its ownership share through a long-term power purchase agreement. It will enable BASF to implement innovative, low-emission technologies at several of its production sites in Europe, Vattenfall said.

BASF’s Antwerp Verbund site will benefit from the renewable power to a significant extent. The BASF Antwerp site is the largest chemical production site in Belgium and the second largest BASF Group site worldwide.

The supply scheme to other BASF sites in Europe will depend on the further development of the respective regulation for renewable energy.

”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.

The wind farm will also support the Netherlands in reaching its target share of renewable power generation and greenhouse gas reduction targets. BASF has more than 1,500 employees in the Netherlands who develop, produce and sell products for many sectors at various locations.

”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.