Vattenfall and BASF participate in offshore wind farm tender Hollandse Kust West

April 22, 2022

Vattenfall will participate in the offshore wind farm tender for Hollandse Kust West (HKW) Sites VI and VII, partnering with BASF for Site VI. The offshore wind farms are of great significance for both companies in achieving their sustainability goals. The renewable electricity from Hollandse Kust West would be another important step towards Vattenfall’s ambition to create fossil-free living within one generation and would support BASF’s ambitious goal to reach net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

The Hollandse Kust West wind farm zone is located approximately 53 kilometers off the west coast of the Netherlands. The full area is auctioned in two separate tenders (Site VI and Site VII). Each of the two sites will accommodate 700 megawatts of offshore wind power capacity. To win the tender for Site VI the bidding parties have to include ecological measures in their concept, whereas Site VII requires investments and innovations which are beneficial for the Dutch Energy System. The tenders for both sites close on May 12, 2022. A decision on who won the tender is expected after summer.

Vattenfall has a proven track record driving the green transition in Europe. As one of Europe’s leading offshore developers, Vattenfall develops and operates 15 offshore wind farms. Vattenfall has extensive experience as an integrated utility along the entire value chain: from the development and realization of offshore projects to supply of sustainable electricity to households and industry. Vattenfall aims to be net zero in 2040, using Science Based Targets to help keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius and strives towards Net Positive Impact on Biodiversity in 2030. BASF aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the year 2030 and has net-zero emissions as a target from 2050. As part of its transformation towards climate neutrality, BASF is investing in renewable power generation facilities. Offshore wind farms can provide BASF long term renewable power with the capacities needed for this transformation. By 2030, the company projects that 100 percent of its 2021 global power demand will be obtained from renewable sources.

“We are pleased to see the Dutch government’s decision to continue its successful approach to offshore wind roll-out and award sites in a tender based on qualitative criteria, this time focusing on ecology and system integration. This approach pushes developers to deliver their very best proposals, stimulates innovation and sees the Netherlands taking the lead in offshore wind development, which benefits the energy transition and society as a whole. Vattenfall has a strong presence in the Dutch market and is committed to take a leading role in the green transformation of the Dutch economy. Hollandse Kust West is an important next step towards our ambition to create fossil-free living within one generation,” says Helene Biström, head of BA Wind at Vattenfall.

“Offshore wind farms will play a decisive role for the use of innovative, low-emission technologies in our chemical production in Europe,” says Dr. Lars Kissau, President BASF SE, Net Zero Accelerator and responsible for renewable energies, alternative raw materials and CO₂ reduction technologies. “That’s why we have already acquired a stake in Vattenfall’s Hollands Kust Zuid wind farm. With a joint bid for Hollandse Kust West Site VI, we are now taking this partnership one step further and BASF is participating at the earliest possible stage in a project that combines our need for additional amounts of renewable energy with ecological aspects in the marine area.”

The North Sea has good wind conditions and there are significant synergies to nearby offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid. In addition, the wind farm Hollandse Kust West, for which first power generation is expected in 2026, fits well with Vattenfall’s North Sea wind farm pipeline and can therefore easily be incorporated into the current procurement and execution strategy.

Positive impact on biodiversity

As the wind industry continues to grow to provide fossil-free energy across the globe, Vattenfall and BASF are committed to minimizing the impact projects have on the ecosystem and aim for net positive impact on biodiversity in 2030. To that extent, Vattenfall has built its own dedicated team of specialists and experts, the Environment & Sustainability Unit, including an in-house bioscience department with extensive R&D experience and sustainability experts who actively work with Vattenfall teams to be a frontrunner in sustainability. Especially in the field of biodiversity and ecology the team is highly active to drive and participate in environmental R&D to understand impact and mitigation measures in offshore & onshore wind. At Hollandse Kust Zuid, the unit started a joint study with nature conservation organization De Rijke Noordzee to find out if nature-inclusive turbine foundation design can benefit the local ecosystem.

“We leverage our strengths as a leading offshore wind developer and industrial player, both deeply committed to sustainability and biodiversity preservation, to develop an ecologically beneficial project. We believe that offshore wind growth needs to be developed in co-existence with nature and society to facilitate a sustainable future. Our HKW bid involves significant investment as well as world-first innovations to benefit naturally occurring biodiversity in the Dutch North Sea and a sustainable offshore wind sector,” says Dr. Eva Philipp, head of the Environment & Sustainability Unit at Vattenfall.

Last month Vattenfall was again awarded the platinum Ecovadis sustainability status, ranking in the top 1% of 75,000 audited companies based on environment, labor conditions and human rights, sustainable procurement and ethics. In the analyses of leading ESG rating agencies, BASF is often recognized as benchmark within the chemical industry.

Combining technologies

With a growing share of wind and solar in our energy system the production of electricity fluctuates more. Vattenfall is constantly looking for ways to use sustainably produced energy as efficiently as possible by connecting its assets and clients. The European first, recently inaugurated Energypark Haringvliet combines wind, solar and batteries in one location, resulting in a more efficient use of the grid connection with the batteries balancing the grid. Demand side response is another solution to deal with the dynamics of renewable production. Using smart charging infrastructure the charging speed of electric vehicles at public charging stations in Amsterdam can be varied throughout the day, depending on how much energy is available.

Vattenfall and BASF are long-standing partners and have more than 15 years of common history of successful cooperation in the power sector. Together, Vattenfall and BASF are currently building Hollandse Kust Zuid, the world’s first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea. Since both parties see the new wind farm Hollandse Kust West as another significant milestone for the energy transition they decided to join the tender together.