Eneco and Rabobank are making long-term contracts for green electricity accessible to companies without a credit rating. Rabobank has introduced a new guarantee product which allows Plukon and De Heus, two Dutch companies operating in the food and agro industries, to enter into an agreement to buy electricity from Ecowende. This new wind farm, currently being built off the coast at IJmuiden by Eneco and partners, will have a minimal impact on the natural environment. Scholt Energy will, as Plukon and De Heus’ energy partner, take care of the administrative side of the contract.
Accelerating the energy transition
We need innovative solutions to meet the ever-growing demand for energy and the government’s targets for wind energy at sea. In this current market, wind farm and solar park developers are signing multi-year contracts with businesses to ensure that their sustainably generated energy is actually sold. They usually work with companies with a credit rating to minimise the risk but thanks to Rabobank’s new guarantee product, PPAssurance, businesses without credit ratings can now buy green power from wind farms and solar parks too. This product provides a guarantee for developers, rendering traditional credit ratings superfluous. Now, Plukon and De Heus, too, have made a deal to buy Ecowende’s green electricity. The actual delivery of the wind power will be handled by energy dealer Scholt Energy. As the balance responsible party Scholt takes care of balancing the power demand and supply of its customers.
This cooperation between Eneco, Rabobank, Scholt Energy, De Heus and Plukon is a prime example of companies joining forces to support their switch to a more sustainable energy supply, thereby aiming to help achieve the Dutch sustainability ambitions. The government aims to have enough offshore wind farms by 2030 to generate at least 21GW and as much as 70GW by 2050 – in other words: fifteen times as much energy as the wind farms currently in operation can generate. All that power is essential for the expansion of industrial electrification and for the production of hydrogen. The new financial solution offers a wider group of businesses the option of acquiring green power, consequently enabling them to join in the much-needed energy transition.
