CPP Investments and Enbridge Back France’s First Commercial-Scale Offshore Wind Farm
France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, which was developed by Canadian energy giant Enbridge Inc. in partnership with EDF Renewables and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, officially opened Wednesday.
The 480-megawatt Saint-Nazaire wind farm consists of 80 turbines off the coast of the Loire-Atlantique region of France. It is expected to power the equivalent of 400,000 homes annually, or 20 per cent of the Loire-Atlantique region’s electricity consumption.
The two-billion-euro project was developed as part of the French government’s aim to grow the country’s renewable power sector. French president Emmanuel Macron has said that France aims to have around 40 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in operation by 2050, which would work out to around 50 offshore wind farms.
Calgary-based Enbridge, which has a 25.5 per cent ownership stake in the Saint-Nazaire project, is also keen to grow its wind power portfolio. Since 2015, the company’s involvement in European offshore wind energy has grown significantly, and includes ownership interests in the Rampion Offshore wind project in England and the Hohe See and Albatros wind projects off the coast of Germany.
Enbridge is also a partner in three other French wind projects — Fecamp, Calvados and Provence Grand Large — that are currently under construction.
The company said in a statement Wednesday that it is pleased to see the Saint-Nazaire wind farm come online at a time when the global energy crisis is underscoring the importance of reliable, secure energy, especially in Europe.
“Enbridge is excited about the arrival of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in France, the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, and about our role as a leader of the global energy transition,” said Matthew Akman, Enbridge’s senior vice-president for power, strategy and new energy technology, in a news release.
Meghan Potkins of the National Post also reports that pipeline giant Enbridge and CPPIB back France's first commercial offshore wind project:
The first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in France, backed by pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is now fully operational following three years of construction on the country’s southwest coast.
The 480-megawatt Saint-Nazaire wind project — also backed by France’s state-owned electric utility company, EDF Group — will produce the equivalent of 20 per cent of Loire-Atlantique’s annual electricity consumption, representing the electricity demand of about 700,000 people each year, according to a release Wednesday from Enbridge.
The 80-turbine wind farm is touted as helping advance France’s goal of reaching 32 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.
The news comes as Europeans continue to grapple with skyrocketing energy bills amid a global surge in electricity and gas prices, thanks in part to supply disruptions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February. The French government has said it plans to spend approximately €45 billion to shield households and businesses from energy price shocks this year and the next.
Calgary-based Enbridge is best known for its oil and gas pipeline network throughout North America, but its investments in renewable energy are among the largest in Canada and growing.
“Enbridge is excited about the arrival of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in France, the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, and about our role as a leader of the global energy transition,” said Matthew Akman, Enbridge’s senior vice-president for power, strategy and new technology in a release. “We’re advancing several renewable energy projects in Europe and North America, and we are proud to have met this achievement ahead of schedule.”
Enbridge’s investment in renewables such as wind, solar and waste-heat recovery currently comprise five per cent of the company’s business, according to a recent estimate by Zacks Investment Research.
In a statement Wednesday, Canada’s largest pension fund said it was proud to deliver France’s first major offshore wind project, despite the challenging economic circumstances.
“Saint-Nazaire is the first of many wind investments for us in France that will develop its energy sources and continue its energy transition,” said CPPIB’s managing director of sustainable energies, Bruce Hogg. “It will be a flagship project and an excellent example of our long-term commitment to developing major renewable projects through our global network of renewable energy businesses and partnerships.”
CPP Investments, which manages the pensions for 21 million Canadians, has approximately $26 billion invested in sustainable energy through private equity investments, according to figures from the end of March. CPPIB ended its second quarter of fiscal 2023 on Sept. 30 with net assets totalling $529 billion.
Chief executive John Graham has said previously that the fund will continue to invest in the fossil fuel industry alongside renewable energy projects and partnerships.
The fund has set a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 for its portfolio companies and its own operations.
Nia Williams of Reuters also reports that France's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm starts operations:
France's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm started operating on Wednesday, adding 480 megawatts of capacity to the grid at a time when Europe is scrambling to secure energy supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Saint-Nazaire wind farm, situated off the coast of Brittany in northwestern France, consists of 80 turbines and will provide clean energy to power the equivalent of 400,000 homes annually, or 20% of the Loire-Atlantique region's electricity consumption.
The project is co-owned by EDF Renewables and EIH Sarl, a subsidiary of Canada's Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO), and CPP Investments.
Enbridge, best known for its North American oil pipeline network, is a partner in three other French wind projects currently under construction.
"(We) look forward to continuing our work together in growing France's offshore wind sector," Matthew Akman, Enbridge's senior vice president of power, strategy and new energy technology, said in a news release.
The Saint-Nazaire project took 10 years to complete. In September, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the site and vowed to cut red tape to halve the time it takes in France to get renewable projects off the ground.
Earlier this year, Macron said he wants France to have about 50 offshore wind farms by 2050.
And the Maritime Executive reports France’s first offshore wind farm is completed off Brittany:
France's first commercial-scale offshore wind project, the 480 megawatt Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, is now fully operational. Under development for nearly a decade, the wind farm is credited with contributing to the development of the offshore wind power industry in France.
French President Emmanuel Macron has emphasized the importance his government places on wind energy as part of France’s long-term strategy. By 2030 the goal is for France to generate a third of its energy from wind power. Macron has promised to cut the bureaucracy required in the development of wind projects to speed their deployment. France is also supporting the development of new wind technologies, including one of the first to explore floating wind turbines.
The Saint-Nazaire wind farm is located between approximately 7 and 12 miles from the southwest coast of France near Brittany. The project was developed in a partnership that includes EDF Renewables and EIH S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge, and CPP Investments. French shipyard and infrastructure builder Chantiers de l'Atlantique worked with General Electric Renewable Energy for the construction of the nacelles, the electrical substation, and the structures for the wind farm.
"Enbridge is excited about the arrival of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in France, the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, and about our role as a leader of the global energy transition,” said Matthew Akman, Senior Vice President, Power, Strategy and New Energy Technology for Enbridge. “We're advancing several renewable energy projects in Europe and North America, and we are proud to have met this achievement ahead of schedule."
First power at the French site was generated in June 2022 and they continued to phase in additional nacelles. Now that the wind farm has reached full power, it will produce the equivalent of 20 percent of the Loire-Atlantique's annual electricity consumption and supply the equivalent of the consumption of 700,000 people with electricity every year. About one hundred people will continue to be employed at the site to help ensure the operation and maintenance of the wind farm.
This first wind farm is part of the EDF Group's strategy to double its net capacity of global renewable energy to reach 60 GW in 2030. The company is also participating in France’s National Low-Carbon Strategy, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through energy conservation, nuclear power, and the acceleration of renewables.
Last year, the companies started construction on a third French wind farm, the 448 MW Calvados offshore wind project located in the Normandy region and expected to reach operation in 2024. The project will use 64 Siemens Gamesa 7 MW offshore wind turbines and will be located between 6 and 11 miles off the coast of northwest France. Recently, onshore construction also began for the 24 MW Provence Grand Large Floating Offshore Wind project, which is due to deploy in 2023 as France’s first floating wind farm. It will be located about 10 miles offshore near Marseille in the south of France at a water depth of over 300 feet.
CPP Investments put out a press release announcing France's first offshore wind project, Saint-Nazaire, is now fully operational:
Saint-Nazaire, France (November 23, 2022) – EDF Renewables and EIH S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) and CPP Investments, have achieved a significant milestone as France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, the 480-megawatt Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, is now fully operational. Located between 12 and 20 km from the southwest coast of France, the wind farm will help support the French State’s energy transition goals, which include targets to generate 32% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. By providing secure, low carbon, affordable and reliable energy, Saint-Nazaire is also responding to the global energy challenge at a crucial time. The wind farm will produce the equivalent of 20% of the Loire-Atlantique’s annual electricity consumption and supply the equivalent of the consumption of 700,000 people with electricity every year. To celebrate this milestone, an inauguration will take place today in Saint-Nazaire, France.
After nearly three years of construction, the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm first produced electricity at the beginning of June 2022 and proceeded to incrementally connect its 80 wind turbines to the national electricity transmission network. About one hundred people will continue to be employed at the site to help ensure the operation and maintenance of the wind farm in La Turballe, France.
Matthew Akman, Senior Vice President, Power, Strategy and New Energy Technology, Enbridge: “Enbridge is excited about the arrival of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in France, the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, and about our role as a leader of the global energy transition. We’re advancing several renewable energy projects in Europe and North America, and we are proud to have met this achievement ahead of schedule. We extend our appreciation and thanks to our partners, EDF Renewables and CPP Investments, and look forward to continuing our work together to grow France’s offshore wind sector.”
Bruce Hogg, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Energies, CPP Investments: “We are proud to be part of a partnership with EDF Renewables and Enbridge that has successfully delivered the first major offshore wind project in France despite challenging economic circumstances. Saint-Nazaire is the first of many wind investments for us in France that will develop its energy sources and continue its energy transition. This is a flagship project and an excellent example of our long-term commitment to developing major renewable projects through our global network of renewable energy businesses and partnerships.”
Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group Senior Executive Vice-President Renewable Energies and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Renewables: “We are very proud to commission France’s first industrial offshore wind farm. I would like to warmly thank all the EDF Renewables’ teams as well as those of our partners, Enbridge and CPP Investments, for the work accomplished. This renewable electricity production facility would not have been possible without a close cooperation with the French government and its stakeholders, municipality, environmental associations, fishermen, economic players and local residents. Over the past 10 years, this project has contributed to the construction of the offshore wind power industry in France and has mobilized a significant number of jobs during construction and now in the operating phase. This first wind farm is part of the EDF Group’s strategy to double its net capacity of global renewable energy to reach 60 GW in 2030. We are also participating in the National Low-Carbon Strategy of the government, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through energy conservation, nuclear power and the acceleration of renewables.”
Stakeholder consultation at the heart of the project
Throughout the development and construction phases, the project team worked closely with local stakeholders. Environmental protection associations, such as France Nature Environnement, Bretagne Vivante, the League for the Protection of Birds and associated experts from the National Museum of Natural History, National Institute of Research for the Exploitation of the Sea and independent design specialists provided the knowledge needed to design the wind farm while respecting its environment and biodiversity. Fauna and flora were rigorously monitored during the various phases of the work and environmental monitoring will continue.Energizing French industrial capabilities
EDF Renewables and EIH S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, officially launched construction of the wind farm in September 2019 alongside industrial partners and local stakeholders. The project’s construction phase contributed significantly to the emergence of a new offshore wind industrial sector in France. The contracts awarded provided French companies the opportunity to increase their expertise to gain competitiveness and seek other global opportunities. In total, during the construction phase, an average of 2,300 people were employed in France, including 1,200 in the Pays de la Loire region. The 80 nacelles and the electrical substation were manufactured in Saint-Nazaire, in the factories of General Electric Renewable Energy and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, respectively.About CPP Investments
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments™) is a professional investment management organization that manages the Fund in the best interest of the 21 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, investments are made around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At September 30, 2022, the Fund totalled $529 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
About Enbridge Inc.
At Enbridge, we safely connect millions of people to the energy they rely on every day, fueling quality of life through our North American natural gas, oil or renewable power networks and our growing European offshore wind portfolio. We’re investing in modern energy delivery infrastructure to sustain access to secure, affordable energy and building on two decades of experience in renewable energy to advance new technologies including wind and solar power, hydrogen, renewable natural gas and carbon capture and storage. We’re committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the energy we deliver, and to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge’s common shares trade under the symbol ENB on the Toronto (TSX) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges. To learn more, visit us at enbridge.com
About EDF
As a major player in energy transition, the EDF Group is an integrated energy company active in all businesses: generation, transmission, distribution, energy trading, energy sales and energy services. EDF group is a world leader in low-carbon energy, having developed a diverse production mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower). It is also investing in new technologies to support energy transition. EDF’s raison d’être is to build a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive well-being and economic development. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to approximately 38.5 million customers1 of whom 29.3 million in France2 it generated consolidated sales of €84.5 billion in 2021. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.
(1) Since 2018, customers are counted per delivery site. A customer can have two delivery points: one for electricity and another one for gas
(2) Including ÉS (Électricité de Strasbourg) and SEI.About EDF Renewables
EDF Renewables is an international leader in renewable energies, with gross installed capacity of 13.6 GW worldwide. Its development is mainly focused on wind and solar photovoltaic power. EDF Renewables has been operating historically in Europe and North America and is expanding into Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. EDF Renewables develops, builds, operates and maintains renewable energies projects, both for itself and for third parties. EDF Renewables is currently operating seven offshore wind farms and building five additional ones, including one floating demonstration project. EDF Renewables’ purpose is to contribute building a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions worldwide.
This is a big deal where CPP Investments partnered up with EIH, a subsidiary of Enbridge and EDF Renewables to deliver France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm.
The 480-megawatt Saint-Nazaire wind project — also backed by France’s state-owned electric utility company, EDF Group — will produce the equivalent of 20 per cent of Loire-Atlantique’s annual electricity consumption, representing the electricity demand of about 700,000 people each year, according to a release Wednesday from Enbridge.
This first wind farm is part of the EDF Group's strategy to double its net capacity of global renewable energy to reach 60 GW in 2030.
The 80-turbine wind farm is touted as helping advance France’s goal of
reaching 32 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.
Enbridge is also a partner in three other French wind projects — Fecamp, Calvados and Provence Grand Large — that are currently under construction.
This partnership between CPP Investments, Enbridge and EDF Group demonstrates how Canada's largest pension fund is working with a pipeline giant to deliver renewable energy in France.
Of course, you will not see a press release from the people running The Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health touting this deal but it shows you how engagement with traditional oil & gas and actually partnering up with solid companies can produce great results in lowering carbon emissions.
Enbridge has this posted on its website going over the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind project:
Enbridge and its partner EDF Renouvelables developed the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Project in the Loire-Atlantique region in coastal France.
The 480-megawatt (MW) wind farm features 80 GE Haliade 160-6MW turbines manufactured in France. According to GE, each Haliade turbine powers 5,000 homes; the project is expected to generate the equivalent of 20% of the Loire-Atlantique’s electricity consumption.
Turbines are located between 12 and 20 kilometres off the Loire-Atlantique coast, at depths ranging from 12 to 25 metres, and deployed an area of about 78 square km.
Enbridge has a 25.5% ownership stake in the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Project, which entered service in November 2022.
If you needed another reason to own Enbridge’s stock apart from the great 6%+ dividend, here it is, it's a lot more than a pipeline company, it is positioning itself to be a great renewable energy company.
This is why CPP Investments partnered up with it in this and other offshore wind farm projects.
Below, a presentation in French on the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind project, France's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm.
And highlights from today's Canada-Belgium World Cup game. It was a great game, we lost 1-0 but I thought Canada dominated the first half. We definitely showed the world we belong. Looking forward to the next game on Sunday morning versus Croatia.
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