UK's first corporate PPA signed for 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm

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Ørsted has signed a long-term offtake agreement with Northumbrian Water for the 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Norfolk in the east of England.

Northumbrian Water Limited supplies 2.7 million customers in North East England with both water and sewerage services, trading as Northumbrian Water, and 1.8 million customers in the South East with water services, trading as Essex & Suffolk Water.

The 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is the first of its kind in the UK. It will deliver approximately 100GWh per year of renewable electricity from the offshore wind farm to Northumbrian Water consumption sites in the North East, Essex and Suffolk, amounting to approximately 1TWh across the term.

This means that from 1 March 2019, Northumbrian Water will source 30% of its renewable electricity directly from the Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm.

As well as supporting the growth of Northumbrian Water’s renewable energy activity, the agreement will help drive down Northumbrian Water’s costs of operation through a long-term fixed price for electricity. 

Under the agreement Ørsted will also provide an innovative balancing service of the wind output so that the electricity can be delivered to Northumbrian Water under an existing renewable electricity supply agreement between the companies, which started in April 2018.

Race Bank Offshore Wind farm is one of the newest operational wind farms in the UK, commissioned in February 2018. It is comprised of 91 Siemens Gamesa 6 MW wind turbines, covering a total area of 75km2 and producing enough electricity to power over half a million UK homes annually.