German rail company Deutsche Bahn is to source 25MW of electricity from the 295MW Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm in the German North Sea under a five-year power purchase agreement with RWE Supply and Trading and project owner Innogy.
The fixed-price deal will start in 2024, with RWE Supply & Trading as the contract and retail partner.
It is the first offshore wind PPA in Germany, the companies said.
Innogy chief operations officer for renewables Hans Bunting said: “This is a win-win deal for all parties involved.
“After the reduction of state subsidies, we are pleased to have agreed commercial terms for the supply of electricity from the first turbines at our wind farm and created scope for further investment in this way.”
DB Energie chief executive Torsten Schein said: “Over the next few years, we will consistently replace expiring contracts based on fossil-fuel generation with renewable energy.
“Before the end of September, we will start a further Europe-wide invitation to tender for the long-term purchase of green electricity.”
Deutsche Bahn currently obtains 57% of its energy requirements from renewables and plans to increase this to 100% by 2038.
RWE Supply & Trading chief commercial officer Andree Stracke said: “RWE has been supplying Deutsche Bahn for many years with green electricity from hydropower stations.
“With this new agreement we want to contribute towards our long-term partner achieving their ambitious climate protection targets.
“Combining our expertise in industrial and municipal customers with the producers of renewable energy offers both sides huge opportunities for the future.”