EDF Renewables, Enbridge and wpd start construction of the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm

PARIS, June 2, 2020 /CNW/ - EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of the EDF Group, Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB), a leading energy infrastructure company in North America, and wpd, a European renewable energy company, announced today the launch of the Fécamp offshore wind farm following the finalisation of financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners during the weekend.  

The 500 MW Fécamp offshore wind farm will be comprised of 71 wind turbines located between 13km and 22km from the coast of northwest France. Project commissioning is scheduled in 2023. The power generated by the wind farm will provide enough annual electricity to meet the power needs for 770,000 people, or over 60% of the Seine-Maritime department's population. The construction of the project will create over 1,400 local jobs in total. During its 25-year service life, approximately 100 local ongoing full-time jobs based at the port of Fécamp will also be created to maintain the wind farm.

The total project capital cost is estimated to be EUR2 billion, of which the majority will be financed through non-recourse project level debt. Fécamp offshore wind farm is underpinned by a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) granted by the state in June 2018.

The consortium has sealed equipment supply contracts with top-tier suppliers, including:

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) for the 71 wind turbines;
• Bouygues Construction, plus Saipem and Boskalis for its foundations; and
• Chantiers de l'Atlantique, plus GE Grid Solutions and SDI for the offshore sub-station.

RTE, responsible for connecting the wind farm from the substation to the coast and then to Normandy's electricity grid, will start its onshore work in June.

SGRE's new turbine manufacturing plant in Le Havre, at which construction is set to begin this summer, will create 750 jobs. The manufacturing of the gravitational foundations for the wind turbines will commence this summer at the Grand Port Maritime site, providing work for around 600 people. The wind turbines will be assembled at the Port of Cherbourg. These orders come at a time when the country intends to boost its activity after two months of containment.

This project has been guided by extensive consultation carried out over 10 years with local stakeholders (state services, elected officials from the region, the Department, coastal municipalities, and non-government organisations) and is supported by in-depth environmental studies undertaken with local environmental associations. Specific work was also carried out in close collaboration with the fishing industry to ensure the coexistence of various maritime activities on the site.

Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group Senior Executive Vice-President Renewable Energies and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Renewables commented: "I am delighted to announce today the construction of the second French offshore wind farm in Fécamp. I want to salute the professionalism of our teams and the mobilization of local stakeholders who have been working for years together to meet the energy and economic challenges facing the Normandy area. With already four offshore wind projects won in France and two of which currently under construction, EDF consolidates its leadership in the sector in France. We are thrilled to have contributed to the creation of an industrial sector that creates value and employment for the territories. These large-scale projects fit with EDF's strategy, under which it aims to double its renewable energy capacity worldwide between 2015 and 2030 to 50 GW net. This is how we will build a CO2-neutral energy future as well."

John Whelen, EVP & Chief Development Officer, Enbridge, added: "We are pleased to mark this important milestone with our partners. The start of construction of Fécamp demonstrates our continued commitment to offshore wind development in Europe and further positions us as a diversified energy infrastructure leader. This investment is underpinned by a long-term power purchase agreement that is in line with our low-risk business model. Enbridge now has several investments in offshore wind projects in various stages of development in France, as well as investments in three offshore wind projects currently operating in Germany and the U.K."

Achim Berge Olsen, wpd Group Executive director and CEO of wpd offshore declared: "This is a big step for offshore wind power in Normandy and for the wpd group, highly committed to this project. More than 10 years ago now, when offshore wind energy was only just starting in France, our team began a broad consultation with all stakeholders, on this excellent area for offshore wind, in order to build a real territorial project. By achieving financial & industrial closing, we can now run for the project's construction, which will make France the 3rd country where wpd is engaged in offshore wind, after Germany & our recent achievements in Taiwan."

All the project partners possess considerable experience in offshore wind farms and in the delivery of large-scale industrial projects:

• EDF Renewables, which owns 35% of the project through Éolien Maritime France SAS, brings its expertise in the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects, including in the offshore wind sector. The company has a portfolio of 6.5 GW in offshore wind energy projects at various stages of their development in the Belgian, UK, German, Irish, US and Chinese offshore wind sectors.
  
  
• Enbridge Inc., which owns 35% of the project through Éolien Maritime France SAS, is a North American leading energy infrastructure company. In addition to its portfolio of 1.4 GW of net onshore renewable power generation in Canada and the U.S., the corporation has investments across Europe in several large offshore wind projects in the development, construction and operational stages. In total, Enbridge has interest in 28 facilities totalling 1.8 GW of net renewable power generation capacity in operation.
  
  
• wpd offshore, which owns 30% of the project, is one of the pioneers and leaders of offshore wind. The group has already commissioned 3 wind farms in Germany, and recently gave the final go-ahead to invest in a 640 MW project in Taiwan. The company has a portfolio of 7.4 GW of offshore wind projects in development, in Europe and Asia.

For more information, go to: http://parc-eolien-en-mer-de-fecamp.fr/

Enbridge Forward-Looking Information

Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements, have been included in this news release to provide information about Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates' future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as ''anticipate'', ''expect'', ''project'', ''estimate'', ''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'', ''believe'', "likely" and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements included in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Fécamp offshore wind farm (the "Project"), including the benefits, anticipated employment, costs and timing of the Project and its expected power generation capacity.

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 energy, and the prices thereof, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand for Enbridge's services and for the Project. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and the COVID-19 pandemic impact the economies and business environments in which Enbridge operates and may impact levels of demand for Enbridge's services and the Project as well as the cost of inputs and are therefore inherent in all forward-looking statements. Due to the interdependencies and correlation of these 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 and projects under construction such as the Project, including estimated completion dates and expected capital expenditures, include the following: the COVID-19 pandemic and the duration and impact thereof; the impact of customer, government and regulatory approvals on construction and in-service schedules and cost recovery regimes; the availability and price of labour and construction materials; the effects of inflation and foreign exchange rates on labour and material costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; the impact of weather; and the ability of our joint venture partners to complete and finance proposed projects, including the Project.

Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to those risks and uncertainties discussed in this press release and in Enbridge'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. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Enbridge or persons acting on Enbridge's behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

About EDF Renewables

EDF Renewables is a leading international player in renewable energies, with gross installed capacity of 12.6 GW worldwide. Its development is mainly focused on wind and solar photovoltaic power. EDF Renewables operates mostly in Europe and North America but is continuing to grow by moving into promising emerging regions such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and the Gulf. The company has strong positions in offshore wind power, but also in other areas of the renewable energies industry such as energy storage. EDF Renewables develops, builds, operates and maintains renewable energies projects, both for itself and for third parties. Most of its international subsidiaries bear the EDF Renewables brand. EDF Renewables is the EDF Group subsidiary specialising in developing solar and wind power.

For more information, visit: www.edf-renewables.com

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edf-renewables and on Twitter (@EDF_RE in French and @EDF_Renewables in English).

About Enbridge Inc.

Enbridge Inc. is a leading North American energy infrastructure company. We safely and reliably deliver the energy people need and want to fuel quality of life. Our core businesses include Liquids Pipelines, which transports approximately 25 percent of the crude oil produced in North America; Gas Transmission and Midstream, which transports approximately 20 percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.; and Utilities and Power Operations, which serves approximately 3.7 million retail customers in Ontario and Quebec, and generates approximately 1,750 MW of net renewable power in North America and Europe. The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit www.enbridge.com

About wpd AG

wpd AG develops and operates wind farms on- and offshore and solar farms. The Bremen-based German company operates in 25 countries worldwide and has realized wind energy projects with around 2,270 wind turbines and an output of 4,720 MW. The project pipeline comprises a total of 11,300 MW wind onshore, 7,400 MW wind offshore and 1,150 MW of solar energy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

EDF Renewables:
Manon de Cassini-Hérail
Mobile: [phone] 
Email: [email protected]

Enbridge:
Mandy Dinning 
Toll Free: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

wpd AG:
Alison Aguilé 
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Enbridge Inc.