EIB has granted a EUR 350 mn credit line to a consortium of EDF-R, Enbridge & wpd to co-finance construction of an offshore wind farm in France
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 350 million credit line to a consortium made up of EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge and wpd to co-finance the construction of a wind farm off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer in France. This financing will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
Totalling an estimated EUR 2 billion, the project involves the construction of 64 wind turbines located over 10 km off the French coast. With a capacity of 450 MW, it will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 630,000 people, i.e. over 90 percent of the population of Calvados. It is expected to enter service in 2024.
“This second financing of an offshore wind farm in Normandy, France confirms that our transformation into the EU climate bank is picking up speed,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “This operation consolidates our expertise in fixed and floating offshore wind turbines, like other innovative projects that we are financing elsewhere in Europe.”
Construction is expected to last three and a half years and will create over 1,000 direct jobs in Normandy, particularly in Le Havre where the wind turbines will be manufactured and assembled in a Siemens Gemesa factory currently being built.
The EU bank has recognised expertise in financing offshore wind farms. In 2020, the EIB co-financed France’s largest offshore wind farm project off the coast of Fécamp (also in Normandy) in a consortium of the same organisations. This financing is also guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
The European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said “the Investment Plan for Europe is backing the construction of a new wind park in the west of France. The project will provide clean energy to some 630,000 people and create over 1,000 jobs in the process. This is another step towards achieving our goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and showcases the economic potential of going green.”
