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RWE and Commerzbank to sell electricity to medium-sized companies

By: Tom Russell 20/06/2022 RWE

General Windfarms

RWE and Commerzbank plan to create a ‘Green Mittelstand Fund’ to give medium-sized industrial companies in Germany access to green electricity generated by offshore wind plants. The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect.

The new fund will offer these companies for the first time the opportunity to secure green electricity through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). Up to now, it has mainly been large industrial customers who have been able to sign such long-term power purchase agreements with large-scale green electricity projects. The medium-sized companies are offered two options as part of this fund. The first option is to participate directly in the planned offshore wind farm with equity. The second includes securing long-term green electricity via a PPA and thus achieve their decarbonisation targets. Both options can also be combined.

The planned wind farm is to have an installed capacity of around 1 GW. The companies want to apply for a seabed for the wind farm within the framework of future tenders, in accordance with the planned amendment to the German Wind Energy at Sea act. These auctions are expected to take place in 2023. RWE plans to hold 51 percent of the shares in the wind farm, the remaining 49 percent are to be offered to interested medium-sized companies by Commerzbank via the ‘Green Mittelstand Fund’.

RWE will develop, build and operate the wind farm. Commerzbank, on its part, plans to make green electricity directly available to its customers from the German ‘Mittelstand’, i.e. medium-sized companies. On the one hand, this is to take place via individual financing and credit solutions for the equity investments of medium-sized companies in the offshore wind farm. On the other hand, the concept offers the possibility to purchase green electricity from the wind farm via PPAs starting with a tranche corresponding to a capacity of 5 MW– tailored to the electricity needs of medium-sized companies.

“The ‘Mittelstand’ is what makes the German economy a success. With this innovative solution, we want to give these companies in particular access to green electricity production from offshore wind turbines and thus contribute to financing the energy transition in Germany”, explains Michael Kotzbauer, Member of the Board of Managing Directors, Corporate Clients at Commerzbank. “What is particularly attractive here is that our concept also offers investment opportunities in offshore wind that meet the electricity demand of medium-sized industrial companies."

Ulf Kerstin, Chief Commercial Officer Offshore Wind of RWE, commented: “Green electricity at competitive prices is the pledge of a sustainable industrial nation with a strong tradition of the ‘Mittelstand’. Our concept opens up great opportunities for this because it can support companies and the energy transition. However, the amendment to the legislation should be modified in such a way that it really does give a boost to the transformation of Germany as an industrial location because electricity from offshore can be offered at competitive prices.”

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RWE and Commerzbank to sell electricity to medium-sized companies

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