Adding green energy to the grid: Philips, HEINEKEN, Nouryon and Signify form first Pan-European consortium for future wind farm

• Consortium supports the development of additional 126 Megawatt capacity at wind farm in Finland 
• Driving incremental production of renewable electricity in Europe, the deal is expected to add 330 Gigawatt hours of clean power to the electricity grid
• Netherlands-headquartered HEINEKEN, Nouryon, Philips and Signify committed to contracting renewable electricity from the wind farm for the first 10 years through a virtual Power Purchase Agreement (virtual PPA)

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips, HEINEKEN, Nouryon and Signify have formed the first consortium to sign a Pan-European green energy deal securing additional renewable electricity for Europe. The four companies have a shared vision to further reduce CO2 emissions in support of the UN Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal objectives. 

The companies joined forces to support the development of 35 wind turbines in the Mutkalampi municipality in Finland, which is scheduled for completion in 2023. The virtual PPA covers an expected output volume of 330 GWh per year – equivalent to the electricity consumption of 40,000 households. Compared to the average European electricity generation, this renewable electricity will help to avoid over 230,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.  

The consortium has committed to contracting renewable electricity from the wind farm for the first 10 years through a virtual PPA. The electricity will be physically delivered to the Finnish grid while the four consortium partners benefit from the Guarantees of Origin. This provides income stability for the renewable project while guaranteeing clean energy benefits for the corporate buyers. 

While the companies have signed PPAs for renewable electricity in the past, this is the first time such a consortium has formed a virtual PPA to drive incremental renewable electricity for Europe. 

Robert Metzke, Global Head of Sustainability at Philips: “Climate change threatens our healthcare systems globally. This renewable electricity partnership raises the bar in how we can jointly increase green energy supply across Europe, in line with the UN Paris Agreement. With this agreement, we secure renewable electricity supply to power our global operations for a 10-year period, delivering real progress on our 2025 climate targets. By the end of this year, we will be carbon neutral in our own operations, and we aim to source over 75% of our total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2025.”

Nicola Kimm, Head of Sustainability, Environment, Health & Safety at Signify: “The world increasingly faces the challenges posed by climate change. The time to act is now. We already achieved carbon neutrality for all our global operations earlier this year and we source 100% renewable electricity. Now we are committing to double the pace we reach the Paris Agreement over our value chain by 2025. Joining forces to realize this Pan-European PPA will accelerate the transition to clean energy and supports our climate action ambitions. We hope to encourage others to follow so we can collectively reduce carbon emissions around the globe.”

The new wind farm will be realized by Neoen, an independent French producer of renewable energy. The four parties were advised on the consortium by Schneider Electric.

For more information about virtual PPA’s and Philips’ commitment, please click here. 

[1] Across 13 of its European Operating Companies in Romania, Portugal, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.

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