This image, fromSept 2022, programs French President Emmanuel Macron speaking with employees on board a boat throughout a see to the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm.
Stephane Mahe|AFP|Getty Images
A center referred to as “France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project” is completely functional, international energy EDF stated today.
The news represents a considerable advance for the nation’s overseas wind sector, with more tasks set to come online in the years ahead.
In a declaration Wednesday, EDF stated the 480- megawatt Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm would assist to “support the French State’s energy transition goals, which include targets to generate 32% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.” EDF’s bulk investor is the French state.
Located in waters off the south west coast of France, the Saint-Nazaire job includes 80 turbines. Its very first electrical energy was produced in June 2022.
Looking ahead, EDF stated the wind farm would “supply the equivalent of the consumption of 700,000 people with electricity every year.”
While the Saint-Nazaire job represents a considerable shot in the arm for France’s nascent overseas wind sector, the nation has actually for years been something of a powerhouse when it concerns nuclear.
According to the World Nuclear Association, France is house to 56 operable reactors. “France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy,” it includes.
In wind power, the nation has a recognized onshore sector. Its overseas market is by contrast little, with a cumulative capability of simply 2 MW in 2021, according to figures from market body WindEurope
This is set to alter in the coming years. “Offshore installations are finally set to take off as of 2022, and we expect 3.3 GW of offshore wind installations from now until 2026,” WindEurope’s Wind Energy in Europe report, which was released inFeb 2022, stated.
In a declaration, EDF Renewables’ CEO Bruno Bensasson revealed pride in commissioning what he called “France’s first industrial offshore wind farm.”
“Over the past 10 years, this project has contributed to the construction of the offshore wind power industry in France and has mobilized a significant number of jobs during construction and now in the operating phase,” he later on included.
