NKT A/S has signed a 10-year agreement with energy company Uniper SE to purchase the full electricity output from a new solar power facility in Germany that will help supply two of its cable manufacturing plants.
A press release from NKT A/S said that the company will buy 100% of the forecast generation from Uniperโs Voslapper Groden photovoltaic park in Wilhelmshaven, along with all associated Guarantees of Origin. The solar facility is being built on the ash landfill of a former coal-fired power plant and will have an installed capacity of 17.2 MWp. Annual production is expected to reach approximately 17,872 MWh.
The electricity will support NKTโs high-voltage cable manufacturing plant in Cologne and its cable accessories facility in Nordenham, located near Wilhelmshaven. Because the two plants are located roughly 300โ400 km from the solar park, the electricity will be delivered through Germanyโs public grid rather than through a dedicated private transmission line.
Power deliveries are scheduled to begin once the solar park reaches commercial operation, currently targeted for Jan. 31, 2027, although an earlier start-up remains possible. Both plants will remain connected to the national grid, drawing conventional electricity when solar generation is insufficient, with the grid effectively serving as a backup for the variable output of the photovoltaic facility.
Neither NKT A/S nor Uniper SE disclosed what share of the Cologne and Nordenham plantsโ total electricity demand the agreement will ultimately cover.
NKT described the agreement as a โnatural next stepโ in reducing the carbon footprint of its cable production and increasing the use of locally sourced renewable energy. Uniper characterized the project as an example of converting a former coal site into a renewable energy facility that can directly support industrial decarbonization in the region.
