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The purchase of green electricity, i.e. electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro power, plays an important role for Freudenberg in achieving its climate neutrality targets. Freudenberg is regarded as a particularly reliable partner, which enables the company to conclude long-term supply contracts for green electricity with energy suppliers.
These so-called Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs for short, are long-term and bilateral agreements between energy suppliers and purchasers on the basis of which investments are made for the expansion of renewable energy. This type of contract not only actively drives climate protection, but can also be financially rewarding. The special feature is that the electricity price is fixed over the regular contract term of ten years, thus offering greater planning security.
While Freudenberg has so far concentrated on PPAs for the supply of solar power, the focus in 2022 was primarily on the purchase of electricity from wind power. The idea behind this is that solar and wind complement each other over the course of the year and together form the foundation for future power supply. In order to manage the renewable energies portfolio along these lines, Freudenberg has, for example, concluded an agreement in 2022 under which the company will participate in the electricity generated by RWE's "Offshore Windpark Nordsee Ost" from 2025 onwards. The wind farm is located off the island of Helgoland, covers an area of 24 square kilometers and has been fully operational since 2015. Its 48 wind turbines generate enough climate-friendly electricity to supply around 320,000 households. This makes Nordsee Ost one of the largest commercial wind power projects off the German coast.
Image: courtesy of RWE