Mercedes Benz has announced plans for all of its German factories to be supplied with CO2 free energy by 2022. Meanwhile, Renewables investment firm Octopus Energy has signed a five-year PPA with Shell Energy Europe to provide the global energy giant with power from several unsubsidized PV projects it is constructing in Italy.
Mercedes Benz cars has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Norwegian energy provider Statkraft to purchase power generated at six wind farms outside the German city of Hanover, as they come to the end of their 20-year subsidy agreements under Germany’s renewable energy act (EEG) 2000.
The manufacturer has pledged to power all eight of its German vehicle and powertrain plants with CO2 free electricity by 2022, and says this agreement with Statkraft is the first step to achieving this goal. Under the PPA, energy from six community-owned wind farms totaling 46 MW managed by Statkraft, will be supplied to power Mercedes’ plant in Bremen, as well as other locations.
The PPA is staggered, with the amount of energy expected to be delivered increasing each year up to 2025, as the individual wind farms reach the end of their EEG subsidy period. Statkraft notes that as much as 2.5 GW of wind capacity each year will drop from the EEG subsidy scheme, and that agreements such as this are a way to ensure their continued economical operation.
Yesterday, parent company Daimler announced that it has invested €20 billion in the purchase of battery cells as part of its CASE – connected, autonomous, shared & services and electric – corporate strategy. Overall, it aims to electrify its entire Mercedes portfolio by 2022, with 130 electric cars, and electric vans, buses and trucks. It says it is investing €10 billion in this expansion.
Over to Italy
In another private PPA signed this week, U.K.- based firm Octopus will provide power from a 70.5 MW portfolio of solar projects in Italy to Shell Energy Europe, under a five-year agreement.
The agreement covers the energy from six of 10 unsubsidized solar projects the investment firm is currently building in Italy and expects to complete in early 2019. Energy from these projects will be sold at a fixed price under the PPA, and Octopus will supply Guarantees of Origin for the energy sold.
“This is a landmark deal for Octopus as we continue to drive value from our unsubsidized solar portfolio in Italy through innovative partnerships like this one,” says Matt Setchell, head of Octopus’ energy investment team.
Octopus completed a refinancing package for five operational projects totaling 64 MW at the start of 2018. The firm also has another 110 MW of projects under construction, at least 40 MW of which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018. Back in April, it signed another five-year PPA for 40 MW of solar generation with Sardinia based power provider Ego.
Source: pv magazine
