A consortium led by Iberdrola, whose global offshore wind headquarters is in Glasgow, has put in bids for windfarm projects off the Brittany and Atlantic coasts as part of the French Government’s competition to install up to three gigawatts of offshore wind capacity.
The consortium includes turbine manufacturer Areva, engineering and construction company Technip, renewable energy design and development firm Eole Res, and developer Neoen Marine.
Iberdrola said its global offshore business in Glasgow was now overseeing potential projects in France, Germany, England and Scotland with a total capacity of around 10,000megawatts (MW), which could rise to nearly 11,000MW if successful in France.
Of the two sites in France, the first windfarm is located in the Saint-Brieuc Bay, off the Brittany coast, and has a planned installed capacity of up to 500MW.
The second, located off the Saint-Nazaire coast in Loire Atlantique, would have an installed power of up to 480MW.
The combined installed capacity of these two windfarms of up to 980MW would be able to power the annual electricity needs of 1.2million homes.
If successful, Iberdrola and Eole Res will be supported by Neoen Marine throughout project development. Areva will manufacture and install the turbines, from its new planned factory at Le Havre.
Technip will conduct engineering studies and will install the foundations and the offshore wind turbines on their respective sites.
Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower Renewables and Iberdrola’s global offshore division, said: “Engineers and project managers in our headquarters in Glasgow will have a key role in supporting the projects, and will oversee a consortium that has worldwide experience of developing major renewable energy projects and a wealth of technological expertise.”
Winning bids are expected be announced later in 2012, and the French Government has a target for the first windfarms to be operational in 2015.
