GDF Wins 1,000-MW French Wind Tender

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - A consortium led by GDF Suez SA (EPA:GSZ) (Paris, France) has won the latest round of French offshore wind tenders worth an estimated €3.5 billion ($4.5 billion).

Industrial Info revealed in April on how GDF was hotly tipped to secure the win. For additional information, see April 10, 2014, article - GDF Tipped to Win French Offshore Contracts.

The GDF consortium will install and operate a 500-megawatt (MW) windfarm in the Le Tréport (Haute-Normandie) area and another 500 MW windfarm in the vicinity of the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier in the Pays-de-la-Loire region of France's Atlantic coast. The zones measure 68 square miles (176 square kilometers) and 50 square miles (130 square kilometers) respectively. GDF will use Areva's proposed 8 MW turbine. Both windfarms will be capable of generating enough electricity for around 1.6 million homes.

GDF's partners include Areva S.A. (ENX:CEI) (Paris, France), EDP Renewables (Lisbon, Portugal) and Neoen Marine (Paris).

"The success of these bids, presented with local players, supports the emergence of a French offshore wind power sector which will generate activity and jobs throughout the country and lay the foundations for international expansion," GDF stated. "It will lead to the creation of two local companies and thousands of jobs in France."

France, which relies on nuclear power for almost three quarters of its electricity, has no offshore windfarms but is aiming to add thousands of megawatts in the coming years.

In 2012, a consortium led by EDF Energies Nouvelles, clinched the first French offshore tender, securing three of the four projects awarded by France's Ministry of Industry. They included the Fecamp, Courseulles-sur-Mer and Saint-Nazaire projects. For additional information, see April 12, 2012, article - EDF Wins Majority of French Offshore Projects.

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