BayWa r.e. and HeidelbergCement, one of the world’s leading vertically-integrated building construction materials companies, have signed a 10-year corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Witnica solar park in Poland.
As it is the first subsidy-free PPA-backed largescale solar park in Poland, this new partnership marks a new era of clean and sustainable corporate energy sourcing, with the potential of serving as a blueprint for more PPA structures in the region and beyond.
Contractual counterpart of the virtual PPA is Górazdze Cement S.A., Polish subsidiary of the HeidelbergCement Group. The agreement represents a significant step in HeidelbergCement’s road to carbon neutrality, as set out in its membership to the 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders.
“The 10-year PPA agreement for Witnica is a great achievement for the Górażdże Group – we are gradually fulfilling the company’s sustainable development goals. BayWa r.e. is a trusted partner for us, we are glad that together we can set standards in the industry,” says Andrzej Reclik, President of the Management Board of Górażdże Cement S.A
Due for completion in the first half of 2021, the park, developed and built by BayWa r.e., is located near Witnica, close to the German border between Poznań and Berlin. The solar park will be the largest in Poland, with a capacity of 64.6 MWp, and will deliver the most cost-efficient green electricity anywhere in the country.
Dr. Benedikt Ortmann, Global Director of Solar Projects at BayWa r.e. said: “Here is the ultimate proof that photovoltaic power can – without any subsidies - be competitive to conventional energies, even in a European country further north, which still generates 80% of its electricity from coal.”
Andrea Grotzke, Global Director of Energy Solutions at BayWa r.e. adds: ”We are pleased to see that not only in Poland, but all around the world, companies are sourcing their own green electricity via corporate PPAs. As a unique model for Poland, this PPA serves as an economic structure for a fixed price hedge against rising electricity costs. Securing energy from solar not only reduces a company’s CO2 footprint. We are convinced that it also results in significant savings on the corporate energy bill.”
Securing the PPA with HeidelbergCement is part of BayWa r.e.’s wider strategy in Poland as the country rapidly brings more renewables online. Over the next five years, BayWa r.e. has set the goal of constructing solar and wind projects in Poland with a total installed capacity of more than 1 GW.
For more information on the solar park, please click here
For more information on power purchase agreements, please visit here.
