Coming together against local pollution

In 2016 and 2017, four large energy users came together in the Netherlands to help develop two new wind parks and fuel their renewable energy ambitions. Nouryon, DSM, Google and Philips signed two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) which enabled a local consortium of companies and farmers to build new wind farms in the southwest of the Netherlands – Krammer and Bouwdokken. The two wind farms added over 140 MW of capacity to the grid, enough renewable energy to power approximately 140,000 households.

This was the first time that a group of multinationals in the Netherlands had teamed up to negotiate long-term PPAs directly with project developers to realize additional sources of renewable energy. The Rocky Mountain Institute’s (RMI) Business Renewables Center, a leading independent authority on sustainability, says the consortium is among the earliest examples of aggregated corporate demand successfully participating in clean energy markets worldwide.

In line with our strategy and values, the PPA helped lower our carbon footprint for a more sustainable future. Nouryon uses this green energy primarily to produce chlorine, caustic soda and “green” hydrogen at our site in Rotterdam, all essential raw materials in the chemical industry.

The Bouwdokken Wind Farm consists of seven turbines of 4.2 MW and is owned and constructed by E-Connection on the Neeltje Jans artificial island. Wind farm Krammer consists of 34 turbines with a total capacity of 102 MW and was established by two local cooperatives, Zeeuwind and Deltawind, representing almost 5,000 members from the area.