Toymaker Lego is joining forces with Danish utility Dong Energy to invest in a major new offshore wind farm.
Lego’s parent company Kirkbi A/S is ploughing around €400 million over the next four years into the construction of the 320 MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm in the German sector of the North Sea.
The investment is a key part of Kirkbi’s and Lego’s strategy to improve their sustainability. Kirkbi, which owns 75 per cent of Lego, will own 32 per cent of the wind farm and Dong Energy 50 per cent.
The remaining 18 per cent will be owned by Danish firm the Oticon Foundation. The project represents the largest investment ever made by private Danish companies in a wind farm project.
The Borkum Riffgrund 1 project will be located approximately 55 km of the north-west coast of Germany and will comprise 77 Siemens turbines. It will be one of the largest offshore projects in Germany and is due to come on stream in 2014.
Lego has set a goal of owning enough renewable energy capacity to meet its own needs by 2020. It is also making investments in improving energy efficiency, said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of Lego Group.
“This massive investment in wind energy is not a one-off event – it is an integral part of our overall ambition of making a positive impact on the world,” said Knudstorp. “We’re on a journey, a never-ending journey – but the investment in renewable energy is a huge step in the right direction.”
The investment in renewable energy will qualify the LEGO Group for the Windmade standard, a global standard for the promotion of renewable energy that the Lego Group helped establish.
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