French offshore wind energy: EDF Group wins 3 wind farm projects

These wind farm projects, corresponding up to 1,500 MW of new installed capacity, go hand in hand with an ambitious industrial plan which should create about 7,500 direct and indirect jobs, notably with the manufacturing of Alstom’s Haliade 150 wind turbine.

The foundations are set for a new industry which will serve export markets.The wind energy offshore projects of the Consortium implie the construction of four Alstom facilities in Saint-Nazaire and Cherbourg to manufacture all of the key components of the Haliade 150 next-generation wind turbine, leading to the creation of 5,000 long-term and qualified jobs, including 1,000 direct jobs.

At the same time, local units for the construction of the foundations, assembly of the wind turbines and their installation offshore will be set up by the Consortium, as well as operation and maintenance centers for the wind farms. This scheme represents the creation of about 2,500 jobs.", stated Henri Proglio, CEO of EDF. "", added Patrick Kron, CEO of Alstom.

"This European Consortium has been formed by EDF Energies Nouvelles, and is gathering together in a partnership Danish group DONG Energy, Nass&Wind Offshore and wpd Offshore, with Alstom as its exclusive turbines supplier. It submitted four projects last January which are underpinned by detailed technical and environmental studies as well as a successful consensus with local stakeholders – elected officials, fishermen, municipal authorities and neighbours.This offshore wind energy programme represents a unique opportunity for France to revitalise the regions while building up a carbon emission-free energy industry.

Nass & Wind Offshore has been developing for four years an offshore wind projects portfolio that represents more than 1,000 MW. Substantial human and financial resources and a methodology based on best practices implemented in Northern Europe have allowed the company to carry out impact studies and additional technical studies necessary to ensure the technical and financial viability of the developed projects. Nass & Wind Offshore is a subsidiary of French group Nass & Wind, based in Lorient (56).

wpd Offshore is one of the leader of Offshore Wind in Europe, with 10GW under development and 2GW already consented. wpd Offshore achieved last summer the construction of Baltic I WindFarm (21 WTGs, 1st German WindFarm in Baltic Sea). The group is in the procurement and construction phase for 2 others projects: Baltic II (320 WTGs, between 3 countries – Germany, Denmark, Sweeden) and Butendiek (80 WTGs, Germany).

In France, wpd Offshore develops many projects since 2007. Technical and Environmental studies on these areas were key factors for the development of these projects, together with the knowledge and consideration of local stakeholders.

DONG Energy is one of the leading energy groups in Northern Europe. We are headquartered in Denmark. Our business is based on procuring, producing, distributing and trading in energy and related products in Northern Europe. We have approximately 6,000 employees and generated DKK 57 billion (EUR 7.6 billion) in revenue in 2011. For further information, see www.dongenergy.com .

With operations in Europe and North America, EDF Energies Nouvelles is a market leader in green electricity production. With a development focused on wind energy for several years and more recently on solar photovoltaic, the Group is also present in other segments of the renewable energies market: small hydro, marine energy, biomass, biofuel and biogas. In addition, the Group is expanding in the distributed renewable energies sector. EDF Energies Nouvelles is a subsidiary of the EDF Group.

Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission, and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 92,000 people in over 100 countries and registered sales of €20.9 billion in 2010/11.

www.alstom.com