BASF buys 49.5% of Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind project

German chemicals company BASF SE (ETR:BAS) has closed the purchase of a 49.5% interest in the 1.5-GW Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) offshore wind farm project in Dutch waters from Vattenfall AB for about EUR 300 million (USD 355.37m) after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals.

The Ludwigshafen-based company will make a total investment of EUR 1.6 billion in the offshore wind farm, including in its construction which started at the beginning of July.

BASF plans to bring a financial investor on board in order to reduce its investment burden and has already launched a process, the company said on Wednesday.

Construction works are running at full speed and Vattenfall will seek to install as many foundations as possible until a scheduled break in the autumn when the weather conditions on the North Sea will be too rough to work, said installation manager Malte Roeder.

The subsidy-free wind farm will be located 18 kilometres (11.2 miles) off the Dutch coast, in an area between The Hague and Zandvoort, and will be put into operation in 2023, generating electricity equal to the annual consumption of over two million Dutch households.

BASF will use the electricity from HKZ for several of its production sites in Europe on a PPA basis, while another part of the output will be distributed to Vattenfall's customers in the Netherlands.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.185)

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