EDF, GDF Suez vies to win offshore wind projects in France

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Nov 29, 2013 02:14 AM EST

France's Electricite de France SA and GDF Suez SA are competing against each other to develop two 500-megawatt wind projects off northwestern France. EDF and GDF Suez are the biggest gas and electric utility companies in the country.

According to Bloomberg, the two companies are vying to develop installations near Le Treport and between the islands of Noirmoutier and Yeu. France opened the tender in March to attract investments of about EUR3.5 billion (USD4.6 billion). French president Francois Hollande has pledged to scale back the proportion of nuclear energy in the country's electricity mix and expand its clean-energy output, the report said. 

Bloomberg said GDF Suez is bidding with partners EDP Renovaveis SA, Neoen Marine and Areva SA, while EDF and Alstom SA will also be competing.

GDF Suez already bid for a project at Le Treport in the first round of tenders last year. But it came away empty-handed after submitting an offer that the French government found extremely costly, the report said. 

Meanwhile, EDF, Alstom and Denmark's Dong Energy A/S were awarded three sites, while Spain's Iberdrola SA won a fourth. They'll be needing an investment of about EUR7 billion for 1,920 megawatts, said Bloomberg.  

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