Fastned concludes second Corporate Power Purchase Agreement with Ecorus

Fastned, the European fast charging company, concludes its second Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) with Ecorus. The electricity generated from the 43,000 solar panels at Ecorus’ solar farm in Den Helder will be delivered directly to stations in the Netherlands. The fast charging company purchases this electricity through Scholt Energy at a fixed price, which supports its policy of maintaining stable prices at the stations. At the same time, this makes it possible for Ecorus to finance the development of solar parks which ensures more solar energy in the Netherlands. With the conclusion of this second CPPA, Fastned is doubling the amount of electricity supplied at its stations that comes directly from solar farms. Earlier this year, the fast-charging company entered into a CPPA for a solar park near Zevenaar.

The Heldair 2 solar farm developed by Ecorus is located next to Maritime Airport De Kooy and Den Helder Airport. This region has the most sunshine hours in the Netherlands. With a capacity of over 25 MWp, the solar park will provide around 22 GWh of solar energy annually, which is over a quarter of Fastned’s total consumption in the Netherlands in 2023. This CPPA makes a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. As with the first CPPA, the solar energy generated will be supplied to Fastned by their energy supplier Scholt Energy. Scholt will also take care of the financial and administrative settlement of the connection with Ecorus.

Whereas the eight-year agreement signed in February 2024 was for a capacity of 16.2 MWp, the second agreement has a term of 15 years. 

Mike Dusseldorp, Head of PPA and Energy Markets at Ecorus, said, “We are very proud of the confidence from Fastned that after the successful first CPPA, we can not only continue but also strengthen the cooperation.” The 15-year agreement is seen as a win-win by both parties. Fastned gets long-term price certainty on the purchased power and Ecorus gets better financing opportunities for the realisation and financing of Heldair 2.” 

Roland van der Put, Energy Sourcing Manager at Fastned, says: “With this second CPPA, we can offer our customers long-term electricity from renewable sources at a stable price. This provides more security for our customers and at the same time accelerates the energy transition. With this kind of contract, we enable project developers like Ecorus to finance and realise their projects, and that provides the Netherlands and our customers with more solar energy.”

The development, investment and construction of Heldair II are in the hands of Ecorus. A process that includes applying for SDE subsidy, arranging grid connection, permits and working out the design. Ecorus expects to start construction in the fourth quarter of 2024. The first solar power is expected in early 2025.