EIB co-finances €2bn offshore wind farm in Calvados
The European Investment Bank has granted a €350 million (about $416 million) credit line to a consortium made up of EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge and wpd to co-finance the construction of a wind farm off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer, in France. This financing will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
The project, which has a total cost of about €2 billion, involves the construction of 64 wind turbines located over 10km off the French coast. With a capacity of 450MW, it will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 630,000 people, i.e. over 90% of the population of Calvados. It is expected to enter service in 2024.
Construction is expected to last three and a half years and will create over 1,000 direct jobs in Normandy, particularly in Le Havre where the wind turbines will be manufactured and assembled in a Siemens Gemesa factory currently being built.
