Collectively companies and manufacturers across Europe have signed around 5GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with wind farms.
According to WindEurope, which has compiled the data on these types of deals, 2018 saw 1.5GW of new PPA deals with wind farms.
The aluminium sector was the most active, with Norsk Hydro and Alcoa signing deals in Sweden and Norway.
Norsk Hydro’s PPA term was 29 years, whereas most wind PPAs average around 15 years.
In 2018 the pharmaceuticals and automotive industries also did their first PPAs, with Mercedes-Benz announcing deals in Poland and Germany. The latter will see wind energy powering Mercedes’ electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.
Nordic countries still have the most PPAs.
Last year saw Germany, Spain and Poland all get their first PPAs, while companies in France and Italy are looking into them, according to WindEurope.
The EU Clean Energy Package will help as it it requires governments to remove outstanding regulatory barriers to PPAs.
The wind PPA trend started in 2014 among data centres primarily. The 5GW today is the equivalent to Denmark’s installed wind capacity, according to WindEurope.
WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said: “Corporate PPAs are booming. Industrial consumers across a range of sectors have now bought nearly 5GW of wind energy via PPAs.
“2018 saw a record number of new deals, and the first PPAs in the automotive sector and in pharmaceuticals – and the first in Germany, Spain and Poland.”