Network Rail partners with RWE to power stations with offshore wind by 2027

Network Rail has secured a five-year agreement with RWE to source up to 65% of its non-traction electricity from the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm, marking a major step towards fully renewable operations by 2030 and cutting emissions by over 168,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Network Rail has struck a five-year agreement with RWE that will see much of the railway operator’s non-traction electricity supplied by offshore wind, in one of its biggest steps yet towards a fully renewable estate by the end of the decade. The deal will cover about 300 GWh a year from Gwynt y Môr, the North Wales wind farm owned by RWE, and is expected to account for roughly 65% of the power used in Network Rail’s offices, depots and directly managed stations.

According to Network Rail, the agreement will begin delivering electricity on 1 April 2027 and is expected to cut emissions by about 168,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the life of the contract. The company has linked that saving to a tree-planting equivalent of 6.5 million trees, underscoring the scale of the decarbonisation effort. Paul Marshall, Network Rail’s chief financial officer, said the deal marked a significant milestone in the organisation’s transition to cleaner energy and showed how large buyers can help unlock investment in new renewables.

The contract comes after another corporate power purchase agreement signed last year with EDF Renewables for electricity from a solar project under construction. Taken together, the two deals should cover around 80% of Network Rail’s non-traction electricity demand with renewable supply, moving it closer to its target of sourcing all such power from sustainable sources by 2030. That ambition sits alongside the wider image of rail as one of the UK’s lower-carbon transport options, even as operators seek to reduce the emissions tied to their buildings and facilities.

RWE said Gwynt y Môr has now been generating power for a decade. The project, commissioned in 2015, has 160 turbines and an installed capacity of 576 MW, according to the company. RWE added that the wind farm has supplied enough electricity for millions of homes over the past ten years and has also supported local jobs and community funding in North Wales.

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Source: Fuse Wire Services