EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of the EDF Group, EIH SARL, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., and wpd, a European renewable energy company, announced the launch of construction activity of the 448 MW Calvados offshore wind farm. The construction started post the finalization of financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners.
The offshore wind project will comprise 64 wind turbines and will be located more than 10 kms from the Bessin coastline and occupies a total surface area of approximately 45 sq kms. Post the commissioning which is scheduled in 2024 the offshore wind project will generate the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 630,000 people, or over 90 per cent of the Calvados French department’s population. The total project cost is estimated at around two billion euros. The majority will be financed through non-recourse project finance debt. The Calvados offshore wind farm holds a 20-year power purchase agreement granted by the French government in June 2018.
The project’s wind turbines will be manufactured in Le Havre at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s Quai Joannes Couvert plant, which is currently under construction. The manufacturing plant is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2022. The plant will also manufacture 71 wind turbines for the Fecamp offshore wind farm awarded to the same consortium. The wind turbines will be assembled at the Port of Le Havre then shipped to the installation site. RTE, which is responsible for connecting the wind farm from the offshore substation to Normandy’s electricity grid, will commence its onshore work in March 2021.
The consortium has signed its main supply agreements with:
- Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for 64 of its 7 MW wind turbines;
- Saipem for the monopile foundations;
- Prysmian Group for the subsea cables connecting the wind turbines to the offshore substation and;
- Chantiers de l’Atlantique, GE Grid Solutions and SDI for the construction of the offshore substation
