Opening of French Wind Farm takes res to four Gigawatts.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Renewable Energy Systems Group has now built over 4GW of wind energy capacity worldwide following commissioning of the 50 MW Pays de St Seine wind farm in France², which is being officially opened today (Friday 15 May 2009). The project brings to 4,037MW the total amount of capacity developed and/or constructed by companies within the RES Group since RES’s first project at Carland Cross in Cornwall, England, in 1992.

Today’s inauguration of Pays de St Seine, which was developed by EOLE-RES³, the French subsidiary of the RES Group, will be attended by regional and local government officials and politicians and more than 200 guests. The highlight of the event will see a professional abseiler descending one of the 130 metre high wind turbines.

Located in the Bourgogne region in the Côte d'Or department, Pays de St Seine is the 14th wind farm EOLE-RES has built in France.  The project comprises 25 Vestas V90 2MW turbines, which will generate sufficient pollution-free electricity to meet the needs of around 48,000 people every year. Construction began in February 2008.  EOLE-RES has completed approximately 300MW of wind energy capacity across France and has several hundred megawatts currently in development in the Mediterranean region.

Jean-Marc Armitano, CEO of RES Mediterranean, commented;

“We are delighted to complete Pays de St Seine wind farm, reinforcing RES’s position as a leading player in the Mediterranean renewable energy market. The success of the Pays de St Seine project is down to our experienced development team and the excellent working relationships we established with the local community, the turbine supplier Vestas and all other companies involved in the construction.  We are pleased to have delivered the project to our usual excellent safety, quality and environmental standards and we are looking forward to kicking off another three projects in France in 2009, all of which will make a significant contribution to France’s renewable energy target.”

Dr Ian Mays MBE, CEO of the RES Group, commented;

“Passing the 4GW milestone of capacity constructed worldwide is a reflection of our continued growth in the face of the current global economic challenges.  It took RES 14 years to build our first gigawatt and we’ve added another three gigawatts in the three years since then. This outstanding achievement demonstrates our successful business approach over the last 25 years, underpinned by skilled international teams covering every aspect of wind farm development, construction and operation.  We are proud to have contributed to the success of wind energy as a mainstream technology that can contribute to energy security and carbon reduction, and at the same time provide valuable jobs and economic growth. “

Four gigawatts of wind energy capacity is sufficient to supply approximately 2.2 million average UK homes a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 4.5 million tonnes annually⁴.  It is more than the total wind energy capacity currently installed in the UK.  The 4GW is made up of 79 international projects including the recently completed Inner Dowsing offshore wind farm in England, developed by RES for Centrica and forming part of what is currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm at 194MW. The 4GW comprises more than 2,600 turbines ranging in size from a 225kW model at the RES Group’s head office to the 3.6MW turbines recently installed at Inner Dowsing

Source: RES group