Deutsche Bahn inks 25-MW offshore wind PPA in Germany

German railway company Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) will be purchasing about 8% of the total production of the 295-MW Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm as from 2024.

DB Energie GmbH, a unit of DB, has entered into a five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Innogy SE (ETR:IGY), the owner of the plant, and RWE Supply & Trading GmbH. The contract is tied to a 25-MW portion of the wind farm, or four out of 48 turbines. It is the first offshore wind corporate PPA in the country, according to Innogy.

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Torsten Schein, CEO of DB Energie, stated that over the next few years the firm will seek to consistently replace expiring contracts for the purchase of fossil-fuel generation with renewable energy. “Before the end of September, we will start a further Europe-wide invitation to tender for the long-term purchase of green electricity,” he said.

DB hopes to be meeting its entire rail power demand with 100% renewables by 2038. At present, it covers more than 57% of its energy needs with such sources.

The Nordsee Ost park came online in May 2015. The 48 Senvion 6.2M126 turbines, installed near the island of Heligoland, are producing enough power to meet the demand of 320,000 German homes.