EDF group confirms Siemens Gamesa for $2.4bn wind farm off D-Day beaches

A consortium led by EDF confirmed its turbine order to Siemens Gamesa for Courseulles-sur-Mer, now known as Calvados, after wrapping up financing on the €2bn ($2.4bn) French offshore wind project that has needed to steer a path through the sensitivities of D-Day veterans and scallop fishers alike.

“Our facility in Le Havre and the Courseulles-sur-Mer project including service will provide local jobs and value for years to come,” Siemens Gamesa offshore chief executive Marc Becker said.

“We are delighted to again be the partner of choice for EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and Wpd, and to deliver our second firm French offshore order to them.”

EDF said the firm order comes after the finalisation of financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners.

Siemens Gamesa calls the project spurred by a 2012 tender Courseulles-sur-Mer, while EDF switched to the name Calvados. EDF and a unit of Canada’s Enbridge each hold 42.5% in the project, with German developer Wpd owning the remaining 15%.

French offshore delays

Close to 3GW in French offshore wind capacity tendered off in 2012 and 2014 had been held up by various obstacles such as lengthy court challenges, administrative hurdles or aggressive protests by fishermen.

As a consequence France, despite a great potential for wind at sea, is lagging behind its northern neighbours in offshore wind development, and only recently has started construction of part of the capacity tendered off almost a decade ago.

Calvados is supported by an extensive public consultation carried out over 10 years with local stakeholders (government entities, elected officials in the Normandy region, coastline communities, local residents’ associations), EDF said.

The utility continued that in-depth environmental studies have been conducted by specialist engineering offices, in tandem with local nature and environmental protection associations. A close and continuous dialogue has also been established with the fishing industry to ensure the coexistence of various maritime users, especially scallop fishers.

To reflect the site’s history, a working group has been set up with members representing the ONAC-VG (National Office for Veterans and Victims of War) and the University of Caen, owing to the project’s proximity to the D-Day landing beaches, EDF added.

Installation and commissioning at Courseulles-sur-Mer (Calvados) is scheduled for 2024.

“We are very proud that this next step in the Courseulles-sur-Mer project has taken place, after a long work undertaken by our teams in 2008 in Normandy,” Wpd executive director Achim Berge Olsen said.

Siemens Gamesa now has about 1.5GW in firm offshore wind orders in the country, among them also one for the 497MW Fécamp project with the EDF-Enbridge-Wpd consortium a firm order for the 496MW Bay of Saint Brieuc project with the Ailes Marine consortium. The OEM has also been named preferred supplier for another 1GW in French offshore wind projects at Dieppe le Tréport and Yeu Noirmoutier.