EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of the EDF Group, Enbridge, a leading energy infrastructure company in North America, and wpd, a European renewable energy company, announced the launch of the Fécamp offshore wind farm following the finalisation of financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners.
The 500 MW Fécamp offshore wind farm will set up 71 wind turbines near the coast of northwest France. The commissioning of the project is scheduled in 2023.
The total project capital cost is estimated to be EURU2 billion, of which the majority will be financed through non-recourse project level debt. The Fécamp offshore wind farm is underpinned by a 20-year power purchase agreement granted by the state in June 2018.
The power generated by the wind farm will provide enough annual electricity to meet the power needs for 770,000 people. The construction of the project will create over 1,400 local jobs in total. During its 25-year service life, approximately 100 local ongoing full-time jobs based at the port of Fécamp will also be created to maintain the wind farm.
The consortium has sealed equipment supply contracts with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for the 71 wind turbines; Bouygues Construction, Saipem, and Boskalis for its foundations; and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, GE Grid Solutions, and SDI for the offshore sub-station. RTE will be responsible for connecting the wind farm from the substation to the coast and then to Normandy’s electricity grid.
SGRE’s new turbine manufacturing plant in Le Havre, at which construction is set to begin this summer, will create 750 jobs. The manufacturing of the gravitational foundations for the wind turbines will commence this summer at the Grand Port Maritime site, providing work for around 600 people. The wind turbines will be assembled at the Port of Cherbourg.
