Cargill and Vattenfall have signed PPAs with Windpark Hanze in the Netherlands for a 90MW onshore wind project.
Consisting of 15 wind turbines, the project will be be commissioned in 2023 in the Flevoland province near the city of Dronten.
Windpark Hanze has recently achieved financial close and civil works have already commenced.
Under the deal, Vattenfall will offtake 78MW from the planned onshore wind farm under a 15-year PPA.
Cargill will offtake 2.9 terawatthours from Vattenfall under a 10-year PPA.
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.
Cargill EMEA Electricity lead Michiel Smets said: “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.
“This PPA 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 PPA is Cargill’s largest physical renewable power purchase signed globally and the first Cargill has signed in Europe.
Vattenfall Netherlands chief executive Martijn Hagens added: “Vattenfall is strongly committed to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degrees and recently increased its emission reduction targets.
“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.”
Windpark Hanze director Gerrit de Regt said: “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.
“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.”