France's wind additions hit record 606.7 MW in H1

France installed and connected to the grid 606.65 MW of wind power capacity in the first half of 2018, achieving a new six-month record, shows data by French wind industry body France Energie Eolienne (FEE).

The new capacity additions are 23.2% above the year-ago level and bring the country’s cumulative grid-connected wind turbine capacity to 14,367 MW. It also moves France closer to its goal of having 15 GW of operational wind farms by end-2018, FEE noted.

A total of 48 new wind parks with 263 turbines were put on stream in the January-June period. The regions with the highest contribution are Hauts-de-France and Grand Est, where 168.95 MW and 160.2 MW of turbines were brought live, respectively. They were followed by Center-Val de Loire with 60.9 MW.

Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) had a market share of 34.3% in the period, closely followed by Germany’s Enercon with 33.7%. Next came Nordex (ETR:NDX1) with 17.8%, Senvion SA (ETR:SEN) with 8.8% and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA (BME:SGRE) with 5.4%.

According to FEE, the latest figures indicate that the sector “has the full capacity to meet very ambitious objectives to accelerate the country's energy transition.” In line with the statistics, it recommends a 45% renewable power target for the country by 2030, with a 23% goal for the wind segment.

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