Dutch king Willem-Alexander joined board members of Vattenfall, BASF, and Allianz to officially inaugurate the 1500MW Hollandse Kust Zuid 1-4 wind farm.
Located in the North Sea, 18km-36km off the coast between the towns of Scheveningen and Zandvoort, the project’s 139 turbines will produce enough energy to power 1.5m households.
Hollandse Kust Zuid is owned by Vattenfall, BASF, and Allianz and is expected to be fully operational in 2024. It will be serviced out of the port of IJmuiden.
“Vattenfall aims to be a leader in the energy transition and offshore wind is essential for energy security and to achieve net zero,” said the company’s head of wind Helene Biström.
“The realization of a project of this magnitude makes me really proud and today is a great example of what we can achieve when partnering with industry.
“Hollandse Kust Zuid will not only contribute to reducing BASF’s carbon footprint but will also help meet local businesses and households demand for fossil free electricity.”
Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE Martin Brudermüller said: “Hollandse Kust Zuid plays an important role in our transition toward net zero.
“Nearly half of the electricity from Hollandse Kust Zuid will be used to reduce the carbon footprint of our products at BASF sites in Europe.
“With this ambitious project, we continue to be a pioneer in the industry, securing green energy via direct investments. It makes me very proud that together with our strong partners, we can today inaugurate this wind farm.
“I am looking forward to more such projects, as we at BASF stand firmly by our climate-neutrality commitment.”
BASF aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the year 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Replacing fossil-based electricity with renewable electricity is an important lever to further bring down emissions the company added.
“Allianz invests policyholder funds in renewable energy and owns more than 100 wind and solar farms,” said Allianz chief executive Oliver Bäte.
“I am delighted that today we are opening our first direct investment in an offshore wind farm, together with BASF and Vattenfall.
“This underlines the ability of partnerships to catalyse action and bring climate solutions to life.”
Allianz said it is committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in its proprietary investment and Property&Casualty underwriting portfolios and already by 2030 within its own operations.