Fécamp, France's First Offshore Wind Farm in Normandy, is Now Fully Operational

FÉCAMP, France, May 15, 2024 /CNW/ - In the presence of the French Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy, Roland Lescure, EDF, through its subsidiary EDF Renewables, EIH S.à. r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), and Skyborn inaugurated the 497 MW Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm. Located between 13 and 24 km from the northern coast of France, the wind farm will help support France's energy transition objectives, which aim to achieve a 33% share of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030.

From the production of its first megawatt-hour in July 2023, to the installation of the 71st wind turbine, the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm has been progressively connected to the national grid. Today, it can supply nearly 770, 000 people with low-carbon electricity, equivalent to about 60% of the annual electricity consumption of the Seine-Maritime region.

Matthew Akman, Executive Vice President Corporate Strategy and President, Power, Enbridge Inc., said: "The successful completion of the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm marks a significant milestone for Enbridge and our project partners. Following the successful completion of Saint-Nazaire in 2022, Enbridge continues to advance the development and construction of several offshore wind projects in France, including the Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind project, and the Calvados, Dunkirk and Normandy offshore wind projects. These projects further highlight our commitment to being a leader in the energy transition and providing clean and secure energy to the region. Thank you to our partners – EDF Renewables, CPP Investments, and Skyborn – with whom we have helped to grow the French offshore wind industry."

Bill Rogers, Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable Energies, CPP Investments, said: "The global energy transition requires significant long-term and flexible capital, and we are pleased to be bringing our capital and expertise, alongside EDF Renewables, Enbridge and Skyborn, to this flagship infrastructure project. Following the success of our first project alongside our partners, Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, the commissioning of Fécamp is an important step in the advancement of France's offshore wind capacity. Offshore wind projects are a focus of our investment activities as we see significant opportunities in the sector due to global decarbonisation goals and energy needs."  

Luc Rémont, Chairman and CEO, EDF Group, said: "We are very proud to inaugurate the first offshore wind farm in Normandy, less than two years after the commissioning of the Saint-Nazaire wind farm in Loire-Atlantique. I would like to sincerely thank all the players in the Normandy region for their support, all the teams at our subsidiary EDF Renewables and our partners Enbridge, CPP Investments and Skyborn for the work they have accomplished. This new low-carbon electricity production facility would not have been possible without close, ongoing dialogue with elected representatives and local authorities, environmental associations, fishermen, economic players and local residents. The development of the Saint-Nazaire and Fécamp Offshore Wind Farms has contributed to the emergence of the wind industry in France, essential for the development of future wind farms, in particular our Calvados, Dunkirk and Normandy projects."

Thomas Karst, Chief Executive Officer, Skyborn, said: "We're proud of everyone's efforts to realize Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm, a project Skyborn has been committed to since 2007. Commissioning Fécamp is a significant step in advancing the clean energy transition in France and Europe. We extend our gratitude to our partners EDF Renewables for leading the execution and to Enbridge and CPP Investments for their collaboration."

Working together with the region: a long-term commitment
Throughout the development and construction phases over the past 12 years, the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm project team has worked in close consultation with all local stakeholders, which has enabled us to best protect the landscape and surrounding environment and help ensure shared use of the sea. Numerous meetings with fishing professionals, residents, elected representatives and other stakeholders have allowed us to successfully complete a project that combines a commitment to the energy transition, consideration of local needs and resources, and respect for the environment. For example, the configuration of the wind farm was adapted, with the turbines aligned in the direction of the current to allow fishing. Cooperation with local stakeholders and environmental monitoring measures will continue throughout the operational phase of the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm.

A local industrial project in Normandy
For the past three years, the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm has relied on a network of regional infrastructures and skills to help build the project. This included construction of the 71 gravity-based foundations and production of the wind turbine blades, nacelles and generators in Le Havre, and pre-assembly of components in Cherbourg. In all, the project involved about 3,000 jobs in the Normandy region and represents a total investment of about €2 billion.     

With the maintenance base located on the Grand Quai peninsula in Fécamp, around a hundred local jobs have been created to operate the wind farm. Day-to-day tasks will range from planning maintenance operations to optimizing electricity production. 

About Enbridge

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, and renewable power networks and our growing European offshore wind portfolio. We are investing in modern energy delivery infrastructure to sustain access to secure, affordable energy and building on more than a century of operating conventional energy infrastructure and two decades of experience in renewable power. We are advancing new technologies, including hydrogen, renewable natural gas, and carbon capture and storage, and are committed 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.

Contact Enbridge
Mandy Dinning
[e-mail]

About EDF 

The EDF Group is a key player in the energy transition, as an integrated energy operator engaged in all aspects of the energy business: power generation, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. The Group is a world leader in low-carbon energy, with a low carbon output of 434TWh, a diverse generation mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower). It is also investing in new technologies to support the 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 supplies energy and services to approximately 40.9 million customers (1) and generated consolidated sales of €139.7 billion in 2023. 

(1) Customers are counted per delivery site. A customer may have two delivery points.

About EDF Renewables

EDF Renewables is an international energy company that develops, builds and operates renewable energy generation plants. A major player in the global energy transition, EDF Renewables deploys competitive, responsible and value-creating projects within EDF. In each country, our teams are committed to the territories on a daily basis by putting their expertise and innovation capacity to work in the fight against climate change.

At the end of 2023, EDF Renewables has an installed capacity of 12.8 net GW (21.2 gross GW) worldwide.

With a major presence in Europe and North America, the company is also expanding into emerging markets such as: South Africa, Brazil, China, India and the Middle East. Historically active in onshore wind power and photovoltaics, the company is now significantly strengthening its position in land-based and floating offshore wind power, as well as in new technologies such as energy storage, floating solar power and agrivoltaics.

For more information: www.edf-renewables.com 
Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edf-renouvelables and Twitter @EDF_Renewables in English and @EDF_RE in French.

Contact EDF
Mathieu Baratier ▪ tel.: + 33 (0) 6 22 69 94 95
Emilien Lacroix ▪ tel.: + 33 (0) 6 38 96 49 48
Eugnie Gai ▪ such as: + 33 (0) 6 10 89 41 24

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 more than 22 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 December 31, 2023, the Fund totalled C$590.8 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com  or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram or on X @CPPInvestments.

Contact CPP Investments
Steve McCool
[e-mail] 

About Skyborn Renewables

Skyborn Renewables is driving global decarbonisation by accelerating offshore wind energy across the world. We believe offshore wind is a cornerstone of the clean energy transition and an enabler to achieve net-zero targets and ensure energy security and a sustainable energy supply for future generations. Skyborn is an accomplished offshore wind developer and operator with more than 20 years' experience. Our capabilities cover the entire offshore wind value chain, including greenfield development, engineering and design, procurement, financing, corporate power purchase agreements, construction management and asset management. For more information, visit www.skybornrenewables.com

Contact Skyborn Renewables
Meike Wulfers
[e-mail]

Forward-Looking Information—Enbridge
Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements, have been included in this news release to provide information about Enbridge Inc. ("Enbridge" or the "Company") and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of Enbridge and its subsidiaries' future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information or statements in this news release include statements with respect to estimates of production and supply associated with the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm.

Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Assumptions regarding the expected supply of and demand for renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand for the Company's services. Due to the interdependencies and correlation of macroeconomic factors, the impact of any one assumption on a forward-looking statement cannot be determined with certainty. The most relevant assumptions associated with forward-looking statements on announced projects, including the realization of anticipated benefits, include the following: the impact of litigation and government, regulatory and stakeholder actions and approvals; the effects of inflation and foreign exchange rates on labour and material costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; technology-related matters; and the impact of weather.

Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to those risks and uncertainties discussed in this news release and in the Company's other filings with Canadian and United States securities regulators. The impact of any one risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and Enbridge's future course of action depends on management's assessment of all information available at the relevant time. Except to the extent required by applicable law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.

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