Cargill, Vattenfall and Windpark Hanze accelerate the green energy transition in the Netherlands

 Cargill and Vattenfall partner with Windpark Hanze in the Netherlands, who will build a wind farm that is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 350,000 metric tons a year, which is equivalent to providing electricity for more than 95,000 homes in the Netherlands per year once construction is complete.

The onshore wind farm, consisting of 15 wind turbines, will be commissioned in the Flevoland province near the city of Dronten. It will have a total installed capacity of 90 megawatts and will go into full commercial operation in 2023. Windpark Hanze has recently achieved financial close and civil works have already commenced.

Vattenfall will offtake the output of 78 megawatts from the planned onshore wind farm under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Cargill will offtake 2.9 terawatthours from Vattenfall under a 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA). As a result, the renewable energy generated from 13 of the wind farm’s wind turbines will power more than 90% of Cargill’s grid based electrical consumption in the Netherlands.

“At Cargill, sustainability is a top priority, and through renewable energy projects like this unique partnership with Vattenfall and Windpark Hanze we continue to weave it into our global operations,” says Michiel Smets, EMEA Electricity lead at Cargill. “This CPPA nearly eliminates the Scope 2 emissions from Cargill’s operations in the Netherlands and is a major step towards Cargill’s commitment to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 10% by 2025, against a 2017 baseline.”

The 10-year CPPA is Cargill’s largest physical renewable power purchase signed globally and the first Cargill has signed in Europe.

“Vattenfall is strongly committed to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degrees and recently increased its emission reduction targets, said Martijn Hagens, CEO Vattenfall Netherlands. “The climate crisis is real, and we are striving to becoming a leader in this urgent transition. Partnering with Cargill and Windpark Hanze will not only help to decarbonize the Dutch industrial sector but will also support the buildout of renewable capacity, further increasing the share of green electricity in the Dutch energy mix. Partnerships like these accelerate the energy transition and bring closer our mission of making fossil-free living possible,” he continues.

“This unique project is made possible thanks to a consortium of 26 farmer families committed to the construction of 15 wind turbines on their land,” said Gerrit de Regt, director Windpark Hanze. “As the original stewards of the land, farmers deeply understand the need to take care of it and other natural resources while securing a future for our companies and future generations. Windpark Hanze is very proud that the sustainable energy produced is going to be supplied to Cargill, a family-owned company with such strong ties to the agricultural sector,” he continues.

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Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Vattenfall
Vattenfall is a leading European energy company, which for more than 100 years has electrified industries, supplied energy to people’s homes and modernised our way of living through innovation and cooperation. We now want to make fossil-free living possible within one generation. That’s why we are driving the transition to a sustainable energy system through initiatives in renewable production and climate smart energy solutions for our customers. We employ approximately 20,000 people and have operations mainly in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK. Vattenfall is owned by the Swedish state. For more information: group.vattenfall.com

About Windpark Hanze
Windpark Hanze is a local initiative of 26 agricultural entrepreneurs, 180 local investors and the regional public water authority Waterschap Zuiderzeeland, and is part of Windplan Groen, a regional initiative that forms part of the regional energy strategy of the Flevoland province. Windplan Groen consists of 11 planned onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 500 megawatts and an expected annual output of 1.9 terawatthours. The projects are all scheduled to be fully operational in 2023.