Alstom Plans Turbine Plants for France's Offshore Wind Rush

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--France's plans to construct its first fleet of offshore windfarms have moved ahead following a decision by engineering firm, Alstom S.A. (EPA:ALO) (Paris, France), to build turbine manufacturing plants at two ports.

The company has revealed that it aims to invest €100 million to develop sites at the port areas of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) and Cherbourg (Manche), as France embarks on a push to build up to 6,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power. The proposed plants will be the first Alstom facilities dedicated to offshore wind energy. They will be used to produce Alstom's "Haliade 150", its first generation of 6-MW offshore turbines, each capable of supplying enough power for around 5,000 homes.

In July, the French government launched the first offshore tender to build 3,000 MW of windfarms around the country's coastlines. The long-awaited €10 billion ($14 billion) tender is offering contracts to build windfarms at five offshore locations. This tender will be followed by another for 3,000 MW of offshore windfarms next April. For additional information, see July 13, 2011, news article -- France Launches €10 Billion Offshore Wind Bonanza.

Alstom is banking on winning one or more of the tenders through its involvement in a six-company consortium led by EDF Energies Nouvelles S.A. (EPA:EEN) (Paris) and Dong Energy A/S (Fredericia, Denmark). Its decision to cherry pick ports mirrors similar developments in the U.K. offshore wind sector, where engineering firms including Siemens AG (NYSE:SI), Dong Energy and others, are aiming to cash in on the country's Round 3 offshore tenders, which are worth an estimated €117 billion ($154 billion) in the coming decade. For related news, see October 28, 2010, article - U.K. Leading Destination for Offshore Turbine Manufacturers.

"By locating in Saint-Nazaire and Cherbourg, Alstom would be sharing in the ambition of the consortium led by EDF EN and to which it belongs to create in France with its suppliers a long-lasting industrial and technological sector," commented Jérôme Pécresse, President of the Alstom Renewable Power Sector. "The consortium will announce later the other investments planned as well as their localisation, for example assembly and service facilities."

The five zones being offered in the first French offshore tender are:

• Tréport (Seine-Maritime, Somme) - 110 square kilometres, maximum power of 750 MW

• Fecamp (Seine-Maritime) - 88 square kilometres, maximum power of 500 MW

• Courseulles-sur-Mer (Calvados) - 77 square kilometres, maximum power of 500 MW

• Saint-Brieuc (Côtes d'Armor) - 180 square kilometres, maximum power of 500 MW

• Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) - 78 square kilometres, maximum power of 750 MW

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