Wind power will help to green the Norwegian operations of metals group Eramet after it signed a deal with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) unit.
Eramet signed deals to take power from GIG’s 47MW Tysvær and 69MW Buheii development-stage wind farms until 2038, subject to Norwegian government approval and a final investment decision to proceed with the projects.
French multinational Eramet uses more than 2TWh annually at its processing plants in Porsgrunn, Sauda and Kvinesdal, said a statement announcing the agreement.
The agreement builds on GIG’s involvement in the ground-breaking 650MW power deal with aluminium giant Norsk Hydro for output from the Markbygden project in northern Sweden.
The PPAs are backed by guarantees issued under a scheme run by the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency, which aims to help heavy industries strike long-term renewable power deals..
Decarbonising huge, carbon-intensive industries such as metals and chemicals is seen as among the biggest challenges of the energy transition.
The head of Europe’s chemicals industry group warned last year that the renewable energy sector is currently “not ambitious enough” to deliver the massive quantities of clean power needed to green the supplies of the largest industrial users.