RWE is strengthening its market presence in France, one of the company’s strategic core markets. The company – one of the world leaders in renewable energy – decided to invest in three onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 59 megawatts (MW). The overall investment for the three projects amounts to about €70 million.
The “Les Pierrots” project is a first for RWE, the 26.4 MW onshore wind farm being the company’s first in France. It is located in the Centre-Val de Loire region, 250 km south of Paris, in the department of Indre. The wind farm will be powered by 11 Nordex 2.4 MW turbines. Construction of the wind farm has already started, commissioning is expected for late summer 2021.
Construction work on the two other projects is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021. Both are located in northern France, in the region Hauts-de-France. The “Les Hauts Bouleaux” onshore wind farm will be built in the department of Oise. The installed capacity will be 18 MW, based on six Nordex 3.0 MW turbines. Commissioning has been scheduled by mid-2022. The “Martinpuich” project is located in the department of Pas-de-Calais. With an installed capacity of 14.7 MW, the wind farm will be powered by four Nordex 3.675 MW turbines. The plant is expected to be online in the first quarter of 2022.
All these projects arose from the purchase of the European onshore wind and solar development business of Nordex SE, which RWE acquired in November 2020. This acquisition added a further 2.7 gigawatts (GW) in France, Spain, Sweden and Poland to RWE’s existing 22 GW development pipeline. The bulk of the new portfolio (1.9 GW) are French projects. The development business also included an experienced team of more than 70 employees, based mostly in France, with a strong track record in developing renewables projects, this team is now part of RWE Renewables.
RWE is one of the world’s leading renewables companies. By the end of 2022, the company aims to expand its portfolio to a net capacity of more than 13 gigawatts, involving an investment of €5 billion net; together with partners, the gross investment volume may be as high as €9 billion. The expansion is focused on North America, its core markets in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
