EIB Bankrolls Second French Offshore Wind Project

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a EUR 350 million loan for the construction of the 450 MW Calvados offshore wind farm in France.

The EUR 2 billion project, also known as Courseulles-sur-Mer, is being developed by the Eoliennes Offshore du Calvados (EODC) consortium of EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and wpd.

The wind farm will comprise 64 Siemens Gamesa SWT-7.0-154 Direct Drive wind turbines installed more than ten kilometres from the Bessin coastline. The commissioning is scheduled for 2024.

The construction phase of the project, which should last three and a half years, will create more than 1,000 direct jobs in Normandy, particularly in Le Havre, where the wind turbines will be manufactured and then assembled in Siemens Gamesa’s plant which is currently under construction.

Around 100 permanent jobs will be created in the port of Caen-Ouistreham during the operating life of the wind farm.

In 2020, EIB participated in the co-financing of the Fécamp offshore wind farm. This project is also located in Normandy and is being developed by the same consortium.

“This second financing of a French offshore wind farm in the Normandy region confirms the acceleration of our transformation into a European climate bank,” said Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the EIB .

”This operation consolidates our expertise in the field of offshore wind turbines, whether fixed or floating, like other innovative projects in renewable energies that we are also in the process of financing elsewhere in Europe.”