Iberdrola Renovables and Areva Sign Agreement for French Offshore Wind Bid

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Europe (Galway, Ireland)--Iberdrola Renovables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola SA (MCE:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain), and Areva SA (EPA:AREVA) (Paris, France) have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly bid for offshore wind projects in France. The announcement comes ahead of the French government's publication, expected today, of a tender for 600 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW). For additional information, see May 19, 2011, article - French Government to Launch Tenders for Offshore Wind Projects.

Iberdrola Renovables has been conducting wind and feasibility studies for offshore projects in French regions for some years and has determined that France is one of the most attractive countries for offshore development. The two companies will bid on two of the five zones to be offered in the first phase of a 6,000-MW program by the French government; if successful the two zones would have a combined capacity of between 1,000 and 1,500 MW. The names of the sites have not yet been disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Areva will be the exclusive supplier of turbines and Iberdrola will be responsible for development and operation of the windfarms. Commenting on the agreement, Keith Anderson, the chief executive of Iberdrola's global offshore division, said "The development of offshore wind projects is one of the key areas of growth for Iberdrola Renewables, and we are now assessing major projects in the U.K., Germany and France. AREVA has a very strong presence in Europe and is a major developer of offshore wind turbines, making them the ideal partner to explore these projects with."

Areva has already formed a strategic partnership with GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) (Paris, France) and Vinci Construction (EPA:DG) (Paris, France) to bid for the right to build windfarms in three of the five French offshore zones: Dieppe-Le Treport, Courseulles-sur-Mer and Fecamp. The remaining sites are Saint-Brieuc and Saint Nazaire.

IIR is tracking nearly 20 projects that will be submitted for the first and subsequent phases of the French windfarm program.

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