Enbridge Inc. announced May 10 that it has agreed to acquire a 50% interest in Éolien Maritime France SAS (EMF), a French offshore wind development company, for an initial investment of $282 million inclusive of transaction costs and past and future pre-Final Investment Decision (FID) development costs. EMF will be co-owned with EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN), a subsidiary of Électricité de France S.A. dedicated to renewable energy. Closing of the acquisition was expected to occur on or about May 19.
Enbridge and EDF EN will co-develop three large-scale offshore wind farms off the coast of France that would produce a combined 1,428 megawatts of power. Development of the three projects is already underway; however construction is still subject to FID and regulatory approvals.
Each of the three wind projects has been awarded a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement pursuant to which EDF, the power off-taker under the PPAs, will pay an indexed fixed price for 100% of the power generated by each facility and through which EMF will also be significantly insulated from variances in wind capacity.
The three projects are in an advanced stage of development, with a permitting process close to completion, and significant technical and environmental studies already performed. Front-end engineering and design has been completed, construction contracts tendered and bids received.
Subject to Enbridge taking positive FID on each project individually, the Company would potentially invest up to $4.5 billion in total for all three projects. Should the projects achieve FID, construction would start gradually from 2017 and continue the next five years through 2022.
The three projects are:
• 498-MW Eoliennes Offshore des Hautes Falaises offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Fecamp, France.
• 450-MW Eoliennes Offshore du Calvados project, located off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer, France.
• 480-MW Parc du Banc de Guerande project, located off the coast of Saint-Nazaire, France.