Dutch utility Eneco announced that two Dutch companies, Plukon and De Heus, have signed long-term contracts for green electricity from the 760-MW Ecowende offshore wind farm. This was made possible by a new guarantee product introduced by lender Rabobank.
The product, named PPAssurance, facilitates businesses without credit ratings to enter multi-year contracts with developers of wind and solar parks. Eneco and its partners are currently constructing the Ecowende project offshore the Netherlands, with Scholt Energy responsible for the actual delivery of the wind power. The volume of the contracts was not disclosed.
“We need innovative solutions to meet the ever-growing demand for energy and the government's targets for wind energy at sea,” Eneco stated.
In May, Japan's Chubu completed the acquisition of a 30% stake in Ecowende. Existing power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the project include a deal with Google.