France Selects EDF and Maple Power to Build 1 GW Offshore Wind Farm

March 27, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie, a special purpose company of EDF Renouvelables and Canada’s Maple Power, has won the tender to build and operate the 1 GW Centre Manche 1 wind farm project offshore Normandy, France.

Illustration; Photo source: EDF Renouvleables

Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie was one of the six pre-selected candidates in this tendering round. The other developers who were bidding to build the Centre Manche 1 wind farm included a joint venture of Enbridge and CPPIB; Iberdrola Renovables France; Ocean Winds; Shell; a consortium formed by the Total and RWE groups; and a consortium of Vattenfall, wpd, and the Banque des Territoires.

According to France’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition, the price offered by Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie was very competitive and once again demonstrated the maturity of the offshore wind power sector.

Agnes Pannier-Runacher, France’s Minister of Energy Transition, told La Presse de la Manche that the strike price offered by EDF Renouvelables and Maple Power was less than EUR 45 per MWh.

The competitive bidding procedure for Centre Manche 1 also made it possible to introduce new criteria reinforcing the influence of the project on the local economy and the environment, the offers of the candidates having been noted on various commitments such as recycling of the blades, contribution to a protection fund of biodiversity, rate of use of SMEs for construction and operation, use of crowdfunding, and others, the Ministry said.

The Centre Manche 1 (AO4) area, the location of France’s eighth wind farm, is situated more than 32 kilometres off the coast of Normandy.

The project is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2031, providing electricity for around 800,000 households.