February 23 (SeeNews) - Austrian power producer Verbund AG [VIE:VER] will be supplying wind power to an unnamed automotive company in Romania under a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) facilitated by Swiss energy trader Axpo Holding AG.
According to Axpo, this is the first long-term corporate PPA for renewable energies with an industrial company in Romania. Under its terms, the automotive supplier will buy 70 GWh of electricity from Verbund Wind Power Romania Srl each year through 2026.
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The volume will be sourced from the 226-MW wind farm in Casimcea, near the Romanian Black Sea coast. It will be used to power the manufacturer’s local factories.
The Guarantees of Origin (GoO)-backed contract was signed with the help of Axpo Energy Romania, which bridged the gap between the two counterparties. The Swiss company’s Bucharest-based unit has been cooperating with Verbund since late 2016.
“The PPA is key to hedging the revenues we generate from our operating wind farm in Casimcea. In doing so, it will make a substantial contribution to the financial stability of our renewable energy business in Romania,” commented Markus Kienler, managing director of Verbund Wind Power Romania.
Axpo and Verbund had a similar collaboration in Romania’s automotive industry three years ago, when they entered into a PPA with carmaker Dacia involving electricity and green certificates generated by local wind parks. Unlike the new contract, however, the tenor of that PPA was just one year.