Vattenfall and BASF have signed supply and service contracts with Vestas for 15 MW offshore wind turbines in the Nordlicht offshore wind park in Germany.
The turbine type V236 with a nominal output of 15 MW is currently the most powerful offshore turbine available on the market. From 2028 the Nordlicht wind park will be able to produce electricity for the equivalent of 1.6 million households.
As Vattenfall is accelerating the green transition considerable steps are being taken in reducing CO2 emissions throughout the entire supply chain. 56 out of the 112 turbines will partly be fabricated with low-emission steel, which significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the towers.
“I am excited to start the journey to introduce low-emission steel into our projects. Low carbon steel is the major element in Offshore Wind to reach our Vattenfall SCORE target to reduce our supplier greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, and the walk has now begun,” says Eva Julius-Philipp, Head of Environment & Sustainability within Vattenfall’s Business Area Wind.
The low-emission steel is based on 100 per cent steel scrap processed in an electric furnace, which in turn is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. This reduces the carbon footprint by 66 per cent compared to heavy steel plates made via a conventional steelmaking route.
“Steel manufacturing results in around 8 per cent of total global emissions and it is therefore important to secure decarbonization of this sector fast. With this project Vattenfall together with our partners sends a clear signal that low emission steel is needed to secure an energy transition in line with the 1,5 degree Celsius trajectory in the Paris Agreement,” says Helle Herk-Hansen, Vice President Environment.
An important element on Vattenfall’s road to decarbonisation is to have the full value chain perspective. Therefore Vattenfall started SCORE, a supplier CO2 reduction project in 2021. This project helps Vattenfall actively work towards minimizing the carbon footprints in our supply chain. As a result of this work Vattenfall was earlier this year awarded with the Supplier Engagement Leader Award, for a second year straight. The Nordlicht projects are good examples of how this important work continues.
The Nordlicht wind farm area
The Nordlicht wind farm area is located 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum in the German North Sea and consists of two separate locations: Nordlicht 1 with a capacity of around 980 megawatts and Nordlicht 2 with around 630 megawatts. Once fully operational, electricity production is expected to total around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) per year.
BASF holds a 49 percent stake in the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farm projects. Vattenfall is developing and building the Nordlicht sites and intends to use its share of future electricity generation to supply customers in Germany with fossil-free electricity. BASF will use almost half of the electricity to supply its chemical production sites in Europe, especially in Ludwigshafen.
This news refers to Vestas Company Announcement No. 10/2024 from 13 June 2024, which can be accessed here
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