Borealis/Eneco in second renewable energy agreement for Belgian facility
Austrian polyolefins supplier Borealis and Eneco, an integrated sustainable energy company, announce that they have signed a second ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply renewable electricity for Borealis production operations in Belgium. Eneco, which has an exclusive offtake agreement for the entire output generated at the SeaMade offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea, will supply around 150 gigawatt hours (GWh) each year to Borealis over the next ten years, starting in 2024.
The additional renewable electricity procured through this agreement brings Borealis closer to realising its aim to use 100% renewable electricity in its Polyolefins and Hydrocarbons businesses by 2030.
With a total operational capacity of approximately 487 megawatt (MW), SeaMade is the largest wind farm in the Belgian North Sea. It comprises two offshore concessions commissioned at the end of 2020, Seastar (with 252 MW), and Mermaid (235 MW), each with two offshore substations. The farm’s 58 wind turbine generators, each with 8.4 MW capacity, are located around 45 km off the coastal city of Ostend. Taken together, Seastar and Mermaid have the capacity to power the equivalent of around 500,000 Belgian households every year.
Eneco established itself as a pioneer in the renewable energy transition by becoming one of the first energy companies in Europe to chart a sustainable course for the production and supply of renewable power to its customers in Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, and Germany. Eneco has a 12.5% combined stake in the SeaMade project; the rest is held by partners Otary RS NV (70% stake) and Electrabel NV (17.5%). In procuring 100% of the SeaMade output, Eneco moves closer to its goal of becoming completely climate neutral by 2035 as defined in its One Planet Plan.
The first PPA between Borealis and Eneco, signed in October 2020, entails delivery of wind power from Mermaid to Borealis Belgian operations as of January 2021. The new, second PPA covers the supply of renewable electricity to Borealis from the Seastar wind park.
The renewable electricity generated within the framework of the second PPA – around 1.5 terawatt hours (TWh) over ten years – will lower Scope 2 emissions at Borealis operations in Belgium by approximately 22,300 tonnes/year. These PPAs represent progress towards realising the objective of increasing the share of renewables in the electricity mix to 40% by 2025 and ensuring that by 2030, 100% of the electricity used to power Borealis operations in Polyolefins and Hydrocarbons is of renewable origin.
“Our new PPA with Eneco for roughly 1.5 TWh of renewable power over the next ten years is an important step forward for Borealis in achieving our own Energy & Climate targets,” says Borealis Executive Vice President Base Chemicals and Operations, Wolfram Krenn. “Having strong and reliable partners like Eneco enables us to accelerate our climate neutrality efforts. This is what we mean by re-inventing essentials for more sustainable living.”
“As part of our One Planet Plan – becoming climate neutral by 2035 – assisting our customers in their path to climate neutrality is an important element,” says Jean-Jacques Delmée, CEO of Eneco Belgium. “By combining our decarbonization efforts, together we can achieve more and faster. We act now, and we set the pace for others.”
