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TotalEnergies and RWE have been selected to build the largest clean energy power plant in France, a 1.5-gigawatt wind farm. The project is the Centre Manche 2 (AO8) offshore wind farm.
Traditionally a fossil fuel giant (and still so), it’s interesting that TotalEnergies has made the shift enough to be selected for such a large wind project. How different things are in France than in the USA, where our president is trying his hardest to kill a budding offshore wind industry and Exxon has nothing at all to do with wind power, let alone winning contracts to build and operate the biggest wind farms.
Speaking of TotalEnergies, here’s some more info on the project from the oil-turn-wind giant: “Located more than 40 km off the coast of Normandy, this will be the largest renewable energy project ever developed in France. Once built, it will generate approximately 6 TWh per year and supply green electricity to the equivalent of over 1 million French households. The electricity will be sold at a competitive price of €66/MWh, as set by the tender.
“TotalEnergies will be the operator of the project, relying on its expertise in offshore wind and the management of large-scale marine energy projects. The Company will continue the necessary studies to reach a final investment decision by early 2029. Electricity production is expected to begin in 2033, in line with RTE’s grid connection schedule.”
The project is expected to employ up to 2,500 during its 3 years of construction. The giant project is expected to come at a cost of €4.5 billion, but pay back much more than that over time.
Interestingly, they are also inviting local residents and authorities to invest in the project. Here are some other goodies regarding the project:
“On environmental matters, TotalEnergies will allocate €45 million to measures aimed at avoiding, reducing, and offsetting the project’s impacts; as well as €15 million to a biodiversity promotion fund in Normandy.”
“Finally, TotalEnergies has committed to making this project exemplary in terms of recycling offshore wind farm components, with recycling, reuse, or repurposing rates of blades, towers, and nacelles equal to or greater than 95%, and 100% of generator magnets being recycled or reused.”
Overall, it sounds like an excellent project very well planned by TotalEnergies that will be a great example to share as it stands out as the largest renewable energy project in France and one of the largest in the world.
“We are very proud to have won this tender for the construction of the largest renewable energy park in France to date. It embodies Total’s transformation into TotalEnergies in France. This project will be the largest investment made by TotalEnergies in France in decades and reflects our Company’s deep commitment to our country,” Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said. “As a long-standing player in Normandy, we are determined to mobilize our expertise to ensure this project is an industrial success while securing its acceptance by the region. We will work to support the local industrial ecosystem, which has already developed skills through the first offshore wind projects currently being installed. Finally, this project strengthens our development in green electricity production to offer competitive prices to our French customers.”
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