Mercedes-Benz just signed a deal for offshore wind power – and it’s one of the auto industry’s largest power purchase agreements for clean energy in Europe.

The German automaker said today that it’s signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Spain’s Iberdrola for 140 megawatts (MW) of energy from an offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. A PPA is a long-term agreement between a renewable developer and a customer to purchase energy from a specific source at a predetermined price.

The wind farm that will supply Mercedes with power is called Windanker, and the 300 MW Baltic sea project is expected to come online in 2026. It will consist of 20 15 MW wind turbines.

That power is going to cover around 30% of the company’s electricity needs in Germany.

Iberdrola says that the majority of the electricity Windanker generates will be traded through long-term PPAs; Amazon is also going to source power from Windanker. 

Mercedes plans to boost renewable energy to account for 70% of overall energy needs at its own production sites. Renewables currently account for 45% of overall energy used in production at its plants.

The automaker also announced today at its ESG Conference 2023 in Stuttgart that it’s aiming for an 80% cut in emissions for its own production by 2030.

The goal is for all Mercedes production plants worldwide to be on 100% renewable energy with zero emissions by 2039. It’s also pursuing the goal of a green steel supply chain from 2039 at the latest.

Photo: The Untertürkheim plant in Munich, Germany/Mercedes-Benz

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