RWE Supply & Trading and Ocean Breeze Energy, owner and operator of the offshore wind farm BARD Offshore 1, have entered into a long-term green power purchase agreement. As early as April 2023, RWE Supply & Trading will market the wind farm’s electricity production under the direct marketing scheme. From 2026, the wind turbines are to be gradually switched to a fixed price regime. The contract runs until 2030.

The wind farm is located 100 km off the German North Sea coast, north of the island of Borkum. Its 80 wind turbines have an installed capacity of 400 megawatts (MW), enough to meet the electricity needs of around 463,000 households. Ocean Breeze Energy is a pioneer in the German offshore industry with the BARD Offshore 1 wind farm having been commissioned back in 2013. In the future, the wind farm’s electricity will be used to produce green hydrogen by means of electrolyser projects currently under development by RWE as well as for the supply of green electricity to RWE Supply & Trading’s customer base. Thus, RWE and Ocean Breeze Energy are contributing to the climate-friendly energy transition of various industries and the transport sector.

Jean Huby, CEO of Ocean Breeze Energy: “With this agreement we are securing an outlet for our electricity production for the long term. We are also very proud to partner with RWE in making a contribution to the much-needed transformation of the European energy systems on the way to net zero”.

Ulf Kerstin, CCO of RWE Supply & Trading, sees the cooperation as another important step to further grow the company’s green power portfolio: “By integrating the wind farm into our portfolio, we are addressing our customers’ increasing demand for green power as well as further bolstering RWE’s green hydrogen activities.”

The two companies also intend to cooperate in other areas. For example, the wind farm is to be used by RWE Supply &Trading to provide flexibility in the form of balancing energy for stabilising the power grid. This allows short-term fluctuations in the grid to be balanced out.