EnBW meets Norwegian officials at WindEurope to develop cooperation on energy and industry
EnBW has invested heavily in renewable energy since 2013 and is today one of the largest developers of fixed offshore wind in Europe. In Norway, EnBW are participating in this year’s area allocation on “Sørlige Nordsjø II” (SNII) as part of the Norseman consortium and will also consider future rounds to realize Norway’s ambitions of 30 GW offshore wind power by 2040.
“We want to be a constructive partner for Norway with a special focus on renewable energy and green industrial development. To that end, we intend to use our experience from fixed offshore wind projects to develop good and innovative solutions for SNII. We have also established our Norwegian head office in Kristiansand as we believe Agder is perfectly located with the SNII and the Norwegian offshore wind plans. Furthermore, we have a clear ambition to take our Norwegian suppliers with us on other projects in Europe”, says Michael Class, Executive Vice President of Power Generation Portfolio Development at EnBW.
EnBW has already started a collaboration with Equinor on a joint deployment of offshore wind in Germany, which will benefit Equinor, EnBW and the Norwegian supplier industry. In March, Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund bought a share in the He Dreiht offshore wind project from EnBW. He Dreiht is an ongoing development project of 960 MW where EnBW is the operator. “It is very exciting to have NBIM join us on the ownership side because we need a strong, long-term, and professional capital player to succeed with Europe’s Green Deal”, says Class.
EnBW is actively working on a green ammonia value chain between Norway and Germany and are in touch with norwegian companies and also in advanced negotiation with Skipavika Green Ammonia in Western Norway (SkiGA AS). EnBW will be moving forward to increase its involvement in Norway and want to be a partner for Norwegian authorities and industry.
“We are honoured for the opportunity to exchange ideas on how we can best support the Norwegian-German agreement on energy and industry with the Ministries and look forward to further strengthening our cooperation”, says Class.
About EnBW
EnBW is one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany and Europe, with a workforce of some 27,000 employees. It provides electricity, gas and water together with infrastructure and energy-related products and services to around 5.5 million customers. Further expanding renewables in Germany and selected foreign markets is a central element of EnBW’s growth strategy. Since the beginning of its transformation in 2012, EnBW has invested some €6 billion in the expansion of renewable energies. By the end of 2025, EnBW will obtain 50% of its generation portfolio from renewable energies. This is already having a noticeable impact in terms of reducing carbon emissions. EnBW aims to achieve climate neutrality in its entirety by 2035.