INEOS Buys More Offshore Wind Power in Belgium

Chemical company INEOS has signed a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (cPPA) with Eneco to source renewable electricity from SeaMade, Belgium’s largest offshore wind farm.

The agreement entails the purchase and supply of over 65.5 MW of wind power over the next decade, with delivery set to begin in January 2022. This is the largest cPPA Eneco has closed in Belgium to date.

The renewable electricity from this agreement will be used to support INEOS Olefins and Polymers, Inovyn, and Styrolution businesses.

”Developing sustainable power supplies together with our customers is a central pillar in our One Planet strategy to become a net zero company by 2035. INEOS also wants to contribute to a net zero economy and is therefore taking concrete actions to reduce its climate footprint. With our collaboration we can contribute to making INEOS operations run on renewable energy sources and at the same time accelerate the energy transition,” Kees-Jan Rameau, Chief Strategic Growth Officer and Board Member of Eneco, said.

This deal will account for approximately 13.5 per cent of SeaMade’s renewable electricity. It will reduce the carbon footprint of INEOS by a further 940,000 tonnes of CO2 over the duration of the contract, which equates to taking 70,000 cars off the road each year, Eneco said.

This is the third offshore wind PPA for INEOS in Belgium following a 10-year deal with Engie for Norther which started in January 2021, and a 10-year PPA with RWE Supply & Trading for Northwester 2 which also started in 2021.

David Thompson, CEO INEOS Trading, said: ”This agreement with Eneco represents an important step in achieving our long-term sustainability goals. Combined with our previous deals this reflects a significant commitment across 3 different Belgian offshore wind parks and underpins our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint.”

SeaMade NV, a combination of two offshore wind farm concessions: the 252 MW SEAstar and the 235 MW merMAID, is a cooperation between Otary RS NV (70 per cent), Electrabel NV (17.5 per cent) and Eneco Wind Belgium SA (12.5 per cent).

With 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW wind turbine generators and two offshore substations in both concession areas, SeaMade is the largest wind farm built in the Belgian North Sea, with an operational capacity of about 487 MW. The wind farm has been operational since 2020 and is supplying renewable energy for an equivalent of 500,000 households.

NOTE: The original article has been amended.