ENBW ENERGIE BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG AG - Second UK auction success for partners EnBW and bp
- Morven project sufficient to power more than three million homes
- Significant addition to offshore wind project pipeline
Karlsruhe/Hamburg/London. bp and EnBW today secured a lease option off the east coast of Scotland to develop a 2.9 gigawatt offshore wind farm. As Crown Estate Scotland (CES) announced, the 50:50 partners prevailed in the ScotWind auction round in a highly competitive field of bidders. According to CES, technological expertise was among the key selection criteria. The approximately 860 km2 option in the "E1" lease area is located in an advantaged area in terms of water depth and wind conditions, just under 60 km off the coast of Aberdeen. From 2026/2027, this is to be the site for construction of the Morven wind farm - the name meaning "child of the sea" in Scottish Gaelic - with the capacity to power more than three million homes.
EnBW CEO Frank Mastiaux: "Since EnBW completed the first German offshore wind farm in 2010, we have built and brought into operation four offshore wind farms with a total capacity of one gigawatt. This has won us recognition as a major player in offshore technology, including internationally beyond Germany's borders. Following our auction success in the UK last year, we are naturally delighted to win a further leasing auction for offshore wind farms in partnership with bp. Together with the projects in the Irish Sea, Morven represents the largest offshore project in our corporate history to date. It expands our offshore pipeline - including both EnBW projects and those we are developing with partners - to a total of seven gigawatts. With the new project in Scotland, which is currently one of the world's leading markets for offshore wind power, we are pleased to be able to make a further significant contribution to a climate-friendly energy future in Europe."
bp chief executive Bernard Looney said: "bp has a proud 100-year history in Scotland. We want to thank the Crown Estate Scotland for the opportunity to now start a new chapter, helping Scotland continue as a global energy leader for the next 100 years. We have a fantastic partner in EnBW and now a portfolio of just under 6 GW of combined offshore wind to develop together. "Our plans go much further than just the turbines offshore. They see us investing in projects and in people - from EV charging to green hydrogen - aligned with Scotland's energy transition plans. "This is good business - making disciplined investments and demonstrating what an integrated energy company can do; we can't wait to get to work."
The auction win in Scotland is already the second joint success for EnBW and bp. In 2021 - likewise in January - the partners were awarded lease areas for 3 GW in the Irish Sea. The Morgan and Mona projects being developed there will have a total capacity of up to 3 GW. Today's award further demonstrates the partners' commitment to developing renewable energy for the UK. Their projects for a total of 6 GW will be decisive in supporting the UK government's targets.
Expanding renewables in its home market of Germany as well as selected foreign markets is a central element of EnBW's growth strategy. Further investment totalling €4 billion is planned for this purpose through to 2025. "The European targets to reduce the CO₂ footprint can only be met by implementing large scale renewable generation capacity. This presents major growth opportunities for EnBW. Expanding offshore wind in Scotland in particular can make an important contribution to European climate neutrality. The projects in the UK will also take us a large step closer to becoming climate neutral as a company by 2035," Mastiaux added. Since launching a fundamental portfolio transformation in 2013, EnBW has invested nearly €5 billion in its Renewable Energies segment.
EnBW was among the pioneers in offshore wind power with its Baltic 1 offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. In January 2020, the company took into operation Germany's largest offshore wind power project, EnBW Hohe See and Albatros, with a combined capacity of 609 megawatts. Alongside the projects being developed in partnership with bp, EnBW also already plans to connect the next offshore wind farm of its own to the grid in 2025. The 900-megawatt He Dreiht wind farm in the North Sea will operate without any state subsidies.
About bp
bp has been operating in Scotland for over a century, initially selling fuel and refining at the Grangemouth refinery. bp led the development of the North Sea, making the first commercial discovery of natural gas in 1965 and bringing the Forties field into production in 1970. Today, bp's footprint in the North Sea is predominantly oil and gas, where we are focused on producing safe, reliable and cost-effective hydrocarbons with lower emissions in line with bp's strategy. The company employs around a thousand staff based at its Aberdeen headquarters and offshore as well as supporting more than 10,000 indirect jobs in the Scottish economy.
About EnBW
EnBW is one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany and Europe, with a workforce of some 24,000 employees. It supplies electricity, gas and water together with infrastructure and energy-related products and services to around 5.5 million customers. EnBW has responded to the major changes in the energy transition with a fundamental corporate transformation since 2013 and is developing into a sustainable infrastructure partner. The corporate strategy continues to focus on massive expansion of renewable energy and grids, accompanied by the development of sustainable mobility and smart infrastructure solutions.
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EnBW - Energie Baden-Württemberg AG published this content on 17 January 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 17 January 2022 11:24:09 UTC.
