Aarhus-based energy trading company Danske Commodities has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement for 480 MW of capacity in the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm project in UK waters, the Equinor-owned company said Aug. 17.
Dogger Bank is owned by Equinor (50%) and SSE Renewables (50%). Located 130 km off the coast of Yorkshire in the North Sea, it is set to be the world's largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2023-2025.
"Danske Commodities has traded power in the UK for more than ten years and we see PPAs as a crucial part of ensuring the continued development of renewables," said Danske Commodities' VP, Head of European Power Trading Tor Mosegaard.
No price was given for the PPA. Offshore wind deal data is invariably confidential, but in S&P Global Platts' Q2 2020 PPA tracker in collaboration with platform Zeigo, a large offshore wind developer was seeking Eur35/MWh ($41.50/MWh) for a project in European waters. Smaller onshore wind and solar projects require higher prices with the average GB developer seeking GBP48/MWh in Q2.
Dogger Bank is being built in three phases, A, B and C, each with installed capacity of around 1.2 GW.
In September 2019 the projects were awarded Contracts for Difference support by the UK government at two strike prices: GBP39.65/MWh for Dogger Bank A, and GBP41.61/MWh for the B and C phases.
The index-linked strike prices have since risen to GBP45.83/MWh and GBP48.09/MWh respectively.
The Dogger Bank agreement adds to Danske Commodities' presence in the UK PPA market. Last year the trader signed a 20-year PPA with Hywind Scotland (the world's first floating wind farm), a 15-year PPA with Sheringham Shoal wind farm and a 15-year PPA with Dudgeon wind farm.
Danske Commodities has over 5 GW of renewable assets under management and trades power in 39 countries.
In February 2019, Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor completed the acquisition of Danske Commodities for Eur400 million.
