Vendée: flying start for Deux Iles wind farm

17 Jul 2014
IndustryCommunitiesFacilities
© DONG Energy A/S

© DONG Energy A/S

The road ahead is clear for the GDF Suez-led consortium which won the second round tender for offshore wind farms organized by the French government. An order just published in France’s official journal authorizes the consortium partners to start work on a farm sited between the Ile d’Yeu and Noirmoutier.

 

In January 2013 the government launched its second round tender for offshore wind, and an alliance of companies led by GDF Suez had their bid accepted. This round was principally for the construction and operation of a farm off the Vendée coast between the Ile d’Yeu and Noirmoutier. The decision has been endorsed by the recently appointed Ecology minister, Ségolène Royal, who has just signed the order authorizing a new company, “Les éoliennes en mer de Vendée,” to operate the Deux Iles wind farm.

 

Based in Nantes, the company has been set up to strengthen the local presence of the GDF Suez, EDP Renewables, Neoen and Areva grouping that makes up the successful consortium.

 

The company must now get in harness to meet the challenges of the bid: it will have to conduct several preliminary surveys, choose suppliers, and oversee production of the 8MW Areva-designed turbines. The Pays de la Loire region will be home to France’s two largest wind farms when the Deux Iles farm comes online as planned in 2021.

 

Read the order in the official journal: www.legifrance.gouv.fr