GDF SUEZ Plans to Bid in Offshore Wind Tender from French Government

GDF SUEZ has announced it will bid in the tender from the French government for the offshore installation of 3,000 MW of wind turbines by 2015.

The Group recently entered a partnership with VINCI and AREVA to design the best business, energy and environmental proposal. This partnership brings together the main industrial French actors of the onshore and offshore wind industry that have expertise that complements each other in the area of renewable energies and construction of major infrastructure projects. Through this consortium, the Group will contribute to creating a true industrial-scale offshore wind industry, which will generate new businesses and job creation in France.

The GDF SUEZ, VINCI and AREVA agreement is an exclusive one for three of the five suitable areas identified by the French government, which could represent as much as 1,750 MW of offshore wind power capacity: Dieppe-Le Tréport (Seine-Maritime and Somme), Courseulles-sur-Mer (Calvados) and Fécamp (Seine-Maritime). The generation output from these wind farms would supply electricity to several million inhabitants for nearly thirty years. Thousands of local jobs would be created in the construction phase and some 4,000 jobs will be maintain on the long term in the operating and maintenance phase. Development opportunities in the other two zones are currently being assessed.

As the number-one wind power producer in France with nearly 1,000 MW of installed capacity, GDF SUEZ will be supported by the technical know-how of its specialized subsidiaries, their surveys and the groundwork they have undertaken locally for many years. The Group has been developing the Deux Côtes 700 MW offshore wind project since 2005 in the Dieppe-Le Tréport area through its subsidiary La Compagnie du Vent. Its other subsidiary Maïa EolMer is developing projects in the Courseulles-sur-Mer and Fécamp areas.

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Source: GDF SUEZ, July 08, 2011;