Projects
What do we actually do at BASF Renewable Energy? How do we ensure access to a sufficient amount of Renewable Energy for BASF now and in the future? Learn more about some of our projects and discover how and where BASF is expanding the production of energy from renewable sources and where we work with renowned partners.
Hollandse Kust Zuid: Biggest offshore wind farm of the world with Vattenfall
In September 2021, BASF bought 49.5% of the Vattenfall wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid. Construction for the wind park located in the Dutch North Sea had already started in July 2021. In 2023, this subsidy-free offshore wind farm is supposed to start operations. With an installed capacity of 1.5 gigawatt “Hollandse Kust Zuid” will at that point be the biggest offshore wind farm across the globe. This involvement poses the first major investment by BASF in the matter of production sites for renewable electricity.
Due to this development, BASF is able to apply innovative, emission-free technologies at several production sites all over Europe. The BASF Verbund site Antwerpen will profit considerably through Renewable Energy. Antwerpen is the biggest chemical production site in Belgium and the second biggest BASF group location worldwide.
With this investment we secure significant amounts of power from renewable sources for BASF. This is a key element in our transformation towards climate neutrality.
25.2% of the shares for the wind farm "Hollandse Kust Zuid" have, in the meantime, been sold to Allianz Capital Partners. BASF will continue to receive most of the produced energy from the original 49.5% of "Hollandse Kust Zuid" based on a long-term Purchase Agreement. This set-up fits the make-and-buy strategy perfectly.
Additional wind farm for a climate neutral chemical industry with RWE
Electricity from renewable sources for the BASF chemical production site in Ludwigshafen – that is the goal BASF is approaching in cooperation with RWE. A new, additional offshore wind farm located in the German North Sea with an installed capacity of 2 gigawatt is supposed to deliver green energy for the BASF site in Ludwigshafen starting 2030 and enable CO2-free production of hydrogen. Using wind power will help us to electrify the production processes for basic chemicals, which, so far, have been based on fossil fuel energy. The goal: A climate neutral chemical industry using low-CO2 technologies, e.g. the electrically heated Steamcracker.
To promote working together on this joint project, in May 2021, BASF and RWE signed a declaration of intent concerning an extensive cooperation to build additional capacities for Renewable Energy and to use innovative technologies for climate protection.
This plan could prevent about 3.8 million tons of CO2 emissions every year, with 2.8 of those directly originating at BASF in Ludwigshafen. State subsidies for building the wind farm won’t be necessary.
A prerequisite for the realization of this project is a corresponding regulatory framework. Politicians have announced that they will upgrade expansion goals for Renewable Energy and speed up extensions. That would also mean an early tender for plots for offshore projects that were only intended for use after 2030. Together with RWE, we encourage targeted calls for tender to focus on industrial transformation processes. Additionally, green energy should be free of the EEG levy.
Long-term supply of offshore wind energy by Ørsted
The offshore wind farm “Borkum Riffgrund 3” will start producing electricity in 2025. BASF and the operator, Danish energy company Ørsted, have closed the deal for a fixed price Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The contract will run for 25 years and includes the purchase of 186 megawatt of power output. Overall, the wind farm “Borkum Riffgrund 3” will have 83 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 900 megawatt. The location close to the East Frisian Island Borkum in the German North Sea has characteristically high wind speeds.
For BASF the contract with Ørsted marks another important contribution to a long-term supply with offshore wind energy. For wind farm operator Ørsted this confirmation through BASF tipped the scale towards a final investment decision for “Borkum Riffgrund 3”.
“The supply agreement with Ørsted is another important step to secure additional amounts of Renewable Energy for BASF,” says BASF chairman Dr. Martin Brudermüller. This Danish wind farm will support the energy transformation at BASF and contribute to the goal of replacing large quantities of electricity from fossil sources through Renewable Energy.
25 years of green energy from ENGIE
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with energy provider ENGIE secures 25 years of electricity from renewable sources for BASF. The contract became effective at the beginning of 2022. Overall, 20.7 terawatt hours of electricity will be provided for various BASF sites all over Europe. The green energy will initially come from onshore wind farms in Spain that ENGIE is involved in as an investor or energy manager. In the future, the electricity may also be obtained from additional onshore and offshore parks. “This long-term contract with an important player in the European energy market secures substantial amounts of energy from renewable sources for BASF,” says BASF chairman Dr. Martin Brudermüller.
Solar energy for BASF site Schwarzheide by enviaM
The BASF site at Brandenburg Schwarzheide could soon be supplied with clean electricity from their immediate neighborhood, because BASF and envia Mitteldeutsche Energie (enviaM) plan to build a solar park with 24 megawatt installed capacity.
In close proximity to the BASF manufacturing site in Schwarzheide, around 52,000 photovoltaic modules are planned in an area of 24 hectares of land. Once approved by the cartel office, the “BASF enviaM Solarpark Schwarzheide GmbH” will demonstrate how energy transformation can be done in the chemical industry.
Jürgen Fuchs, chairman of the executive board at BASF Schwarzheide, and Dr. Stephan Lowis, chairman of enviaM, are convinced that “green energy at competitive prices is key to a climate neutral, sustainable industrial production and, therefore, crucial for added value and employment in the Lausitz area.”
The BASF site at Schwarzheide is the second biggest BASF site in Germany and steering towards further growth. A good example for that growth is the ongoing construction of a modern manufacturing plant for the production of cathode material. Investing in Schwarzheide is an important step towards building a European value chain for electric cars.
