Vattenfall sells half of German OSW project to BASF

The Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farms are being built in the German North Sea, with no state subsidy, according to BASF, who would not say how much the purchase cost.

Vattenfall will develop and build the sites and plans to supply customers in Germany with the electricity produced.

BASF will use its share of the electricity to supply chemical production sites in Europe, it says, primarily in Ludwigshafen, its largest site.

This is not the first such deal between the two companies – in 2021 BASF bought almost half of the shares of the Hollandse Kust Zuid site in the Dutch North Sea.

“Together with our long-standing partner Vattenfall, we are creating the conditions for achieving our 2030 target of reducing our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25 percent compared to 2018.” said BASF chairman Martin Brudermüller.

Nordlicht is 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum. Nordlicht 1 will have a capacity of around 980MW and Nordlicht 2 around 630MW.

Approximately 1.6 million German households could be powered, although this will not happen for a while: a final investment decision has yet to be made, and construction will not begin until 2026.

The wind farm should be fully operational in 2028.

“We are pleased to deepen our relationship with BASF for yet another important offshore wind project – and in this way accelerate the journey to fossil freedom together,” said Anna Borg, president and CEO of Vattenfall.