FID taken on 500-MW French wind project in the English Channel

The consortium planning to build the roughly 500-MW Dieppe-Le Treport offshore wind park in French waters has taken a final investment decision (FID) for the project, it announced on Thursday.

Project vehicle Eoliennes en Mer Dieppe-Le Treport (EMDT) is owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) and EDP Renovaveis SA (ELI:EDPR), along with partners Sumitomo Corporation (TYO:8053) and Banque des Territoires. The scheme is expected to require some EUR 2.7 billion (USD 2.97bn) in investments.

Dieppe-Le Treport will be located 15 km off Le Treport city and 17 km off Dieppe city in Normandy, in the English Channel. The complex will consist of 62 Siemens Gamesa turbines that will be capable of generating electricity for almost 850,000 people annually, or two-thirds of the Seine-Maritime department’s population.

Building works are expected to take three years, with the plant due to be commissioned in the second half of 2026. Offshore construction is slated to begin in 2024.

In 2014, the Dieppe-Le Treport project emerged as one of the winners in a French government tender initiated in the previous year. The scheme is part of a trio of offshore wind projects totalling 1 GW that Ocean Winds is working on in France together with partners. Early in April, FID was taken on a 500-MW project off Noirmoutier and construction is underway at the Gulf of Lion floating pilot farm.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.101)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!