Cargill, Vattenfall and Windpark Hanze accelerate the green energy transition in the Netherlands

Netherlands (30 November 2021) — Cargill and Vattenfall partner with Windpark Hanze in the Netherlands, who will build a wind farm that is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 130,100 metric tons a year. 

The onshore wind farm, consisting of 15 wind turbines, will be commissioned in the Flevoland province near the city of Dronten. It will have a total installed capacity of 90 megawatts and will go into full commercial operation in 2023. Windpark Hanze has recently achieved financial close and civil works have already commenced.

Vattenfall will offtake the output of 78 megawatts from the planned onshore wind farm under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Cargill will offtake 2.9 terawatthours from Vattenfall under a 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA). As a result, the renewable energy generated from 13 of the wind farm’s wind turbines will power more than 90% of Cargill’s grid based electrical consumption in the Netherlands.

“At Cargill, sustainability is a top priority, and through renewable energy projects like this unique partnership with Vattenfall and Windpark Hanze we continue to weave it into our global operations,” says Michiel Smets, EMEA Electricity lead at Cargill. “This CPPA nearly eliminates the Scope 2 emissions from Cargill’s operations in the Netherlands and is a major step towards Cargill’s commitment to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 10% by 2025, against a 2017 baseline.”

The 10-year CPPA is Cargill’s largest physical renewable power purchase signed globally and the first Cargill has signed in Europe.

“Vattenfall is strongly committed to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degrees and recently increased its emission reduction targets, said Martijn Hagens, CEO Vattenfall Netherlands. “The climate crisis is real, and we are striving to becoming a leader in this urgent transition. Partnering with Cargill and Windpark Hanze will not only help to decarbonize the Dutch industrial sector but will also support the buildout of renewable capacity, further increasing the share of green electricity in the Dutch energy mix. Partnerships like these accelerate the energy transition and bring closer our mission of making fossil-free living possible,” he continues.

“This unique project is made possible thanks to a consortium of 26 farmer families committed to the construction of 15 wind turbines on their land,” said Gerrit de Regt, director Windpark Hanze. “As the original stewards of the land, farmers deeply understand the need to take care of it and other natural resources while securing a future for our companies and future generations. Windpark Hanze is very proud that the sustainable energy produced is going to be supplied to Cargill, a family-owned company with such strong ties to the agricultural sector,” he continues.