Offshore Wind Energy: EDF Energies Nouvelles and wpd Offshore Team up to Jointly Respond to the French Government’s Second Call for Tenders

EDF Energies Nouvelles and wpd offshore, two key players in European offshore wind energy, have announced the signing of a partnership agreement.

The agreement formalizes both groups’ decision to combine their expertise in the French government’s second call for tenders, with a view to continuing the development of offshore wind energy in France and pursuing the ambitious industrial project initiated with Alstom (Paris:ALO), the exclusive partner for the supply of wind turbines.

With the first success in the tender launched by the government in 2011, EDF Energies Nouvelles and wpd offshore demonstrated their ability to join forces to provide solid, efficient projects that take the territories’ economic and environmental challenges into account. With this second tender, the partners are thus strengthening their commitment to support a French offshore wind energy industry.

EDF EN and wpd offshore pursue the alliance forged with Alstom in 2011 for the supply of Haliade(TM) 150 — 6MW turbines manufactured in France at Alstom’s four future plants in Saint-Nazaire and Cherbourg. The partners will be able to expand the breadth and depth of the industrial project initiated at the time of the first tender, thereby coming closer in case of success to the critical size required to sustain this industrial sector over the long term.

EDF Energies Nouvelles is a global leader in renewable energies, and today a referenced operator in offshore wind energy with more than 277 MW currently under construction and approximately 2,500 MW under development.

With nearly 10 years of experience in delivering large-scale offshore projects, EDF EN brings expertise from two major projects: C-Power, a 325 MW offshore wind farm in Belgium with 215 MW already commissioned and the 62 MW Teesside project in the United Kingdom due to be completed in June 2013.

EDF EN thus reinforces its skill in management of offshore wind farms’ development and demonstrates its ability to mobilise partners around such projects. In France, the company is leading three projects: F