EnBW is to supply 85MW of electricity to the operator of Frankfurt Airport in Germany Fraport from the 900MW He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the German North Sea under a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA).
The CPPA comes into force in the second half of 2026, and has a term of 15 years.
The electricity will be harnessed to operate three terminals and many other buildings.
The power will also be used to illuminate the Frankfurt Airport’s apron and four runways, and to charge the growing fleet of more than 500 electric vehicles on the airfield.
EnBW chief executive Frank Mastiaux said: “Long-term power purchase agreements are a market response to advancing the energy transition even without government support.
“PPAs equally benefit purchasers, project developers and the climate. For us, they are the key between renewables-generated power and our major customers.”
The CPPA will enable Fraport to transition a substantial portion of electricity consumption at its Frankfurt Airport home base to green energy.
Fraport chief executive Stefan Schulte said the agreement marked a key milestone in Fraport’s ongoing decarbonization strategy.
He said: “Renewables such as wind and solar are the focus of our climate strategy.
“They provide the firm foundations for a comprehensive package of measures to systematically reduce our CO2 emissions. Our clearly defined goal is to make Frankfurt Airport carbon-free by 2045.
“The power sourced from this new offshore wind park will play a central role.
“As an airport operator, we are especially reliant on a dependable, stable source of power that can be scaled up to meet our growing needs.
“In EnBW, we have found a strong partner. Compared with the conventional energy sources on which we have previously depended, the new CPPA unlocks potential savings of up to 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.”
The signing of the CPPA with Fraport also marks the commencement of marketing for further quantities of electricity from He Dreiht.
EnBW plans to step up these activities in 2022, enabling further companies to achieve their climate targets using PPAs.
The company also plans to use long-term PPAs for the marketing of electricity from two large-scale photovoltaic projects currently under construction, Gottesgabe and Alttrebbin, each of which will generate 150MW.
Detailed talks are already underway for Weesow-Willmersdorf, the largest solar farm in Germany, EnBW said.