Polymer manufacturer Covestro has signed a PPA with Engie that will mean almost half of its future electricity demand in Belgium will come from wind energy.
From April 1, 2021, the energy provider intends to supply around 45% of the electricity demand of Covestro in Antwerp from 15 wind turbines in four newly-constructed onshore wind farms, all part of the Conquest4Wind P5 partnership.
The 39MW agreement equals the energy supply for about 30,000 private households and reduces Covestro’s carbon footprint in Belgium by more than 38,500 metric tons of CO₂, which is equivalent to the emissions of almost 20,000 cars per year.
Covestro has set itself the goal to halve its specific carbon dioxide emissions by 2025 compared to 2005 and subtract most of the remaining energy from windpower.
Covestro’s managing director in Antwerp Georg Wagner said: “The new supply agreement is a milestone in the conversion of our production to the use of renewable energies.
“Wind energy, together with the use of sustainable raw materials and innovative recycling technologies, are important steps towards realizing our vision of becoming fully circular and achieving the climate goals of the European Green Deal.
“We are pleased to have found a partner in Engie to take this next step, with which we support our customers and the corresponding value chains to produce more sustainably.”
Engie’s head of global energy management in Belgium Vincent Verbeke said: “Being the largest renewable energy producer in Belgium, Engie acts to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, by supporting its clients in reaching their sustainability goals.
“We are proud to help Covestro meet their environmental goals and to facilitate their consumption of onshore wind energy.
“This contract also illustrates Engie’s strong ambition to increase renewables’ development in Belgium.”
Covestro has already signed a major industrial customer supply contract with Orsted to cover a significant proportion of the electricity requirements of the German sites for a period of ten years as from 2025.
The current contract with Engie will make Antwerp the first Covestro production site powered almost half by wind energy.