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October 5 (Renewables Now) – The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) opens a preliminary investigation into the conditions which led the promoter of the 496 MW offshore wind project in Saint-Brieuc to win a call for tenders for the construction of the park wind farm off Brittany, Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday.
The decision to open the investigation follows a complaint filed at the end of August by a fishing association in the coastal department of Côtes-d’Armor, the report said. The fishermen’s group has supported a number of land and sea protests against the project, claiming it damages the marine environment and harms their profession.
The project to build the wind farm in the waters of the bay of Saint-Brieuc was awarded to the Ailes Marines group as part of a call for tenders in 2012. Today, Ailes Marines is 100% owned by the company. Spanish electrician Iberdrola (BME: IBE), which bought the participation of its consortium partners in early 2020.
The lawyers of the fishing group stressed that Ailes Marines had been chosen by the French ministries of ecology and industry, while the energy regulatory commission CRE favored the competing company.
In July 2019, the Council of State of the Supreme Administrative Court of France ruled that the tender procedure was irregular and ordered the State to compensate the injured party, but still allowed the Saint-Brieuc project to move forward.
In May 2021, Dutch maritime contractor Van Oord deployed his installation vessel to the site to begin installation work on the foundation for the turbine liner.
Iberdrola has committed to invest 2.4 billion euros ($ 2.78 billion) in the Saint-Brieuc project. Located 16.3 kilometers (10.1 miles) off the coast of Brittany, the wind farm will include 62 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbine units installed over an area of ​​75 km² (29 square miles).
When operational in 2023, the offshore wind complex is expected to generate around 1,820 GWh of electricity per year, enough to meet the annual electricity demand of around 835,000 people.
(1.0 EUR = 1.160 USD)
