Germany – Vattenfall and steel producer Salzgitter signed a new power purchase agreement (PPA) for fossil-free electricity from the Nordlicht 1 offshore wind farm to be available for steel production from 2028.
In detail, the agreement provides for a share of 75 megawatts of connected load from the Nordlicht 1 offshore wind farm to be made available to the Salzgitter Group over a period of 15 years.
The Nordlicht 1 wind farm,with 68 wind turbines and a total capacity of 980 megwatts is currently being developed around 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum. It is due to be completed and connected to the grid in 2028. Salzgitter will then purchase around 300 gigawatt hours of electricity per year for steelmaking processes – equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 120,000 households.
Vattenfall holds a 51 per cent stake in Nordlicht 1, BASF holds a 49 per cent stake. Vattenfall intends to use its share of future electricity generation to supply customers in Germany with fossil-free electricity.
Salzgitter is in the middle of the transformation of steel production towards low-CO2 production processes. ‘Green steel needs green energy’, said Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter. ‘This agreement is therefore the next important step in securing our energy requirements for low CO2 production.’
