3.3.4 Senior bond issues: EDF raises $2 billion and €1.25 billion

On 27 November 2019, EDF raised $2 billion through issuance of a senior bond with 50-year maturity and a fixed coupon of 4.50%. This transaction demonstrates the Group’s capacity to attract a highly diversified investor base at the long end of the credit curve.

In addition, on 2 December 2019, EDF raised €1.25 billion through issuance of a senior bond, with 30-year maturity and a fixed coupon of 2.00%. This is the largest amount raised by a corporate issuer on this maturity in the Euro market.

3.4 Renewable energies

3.4.1 Offshore wind power: France

• In early June 2019, the French Council of State validated the plan to build a 480MW 80-turbine wind farm off the west coast of France near Saint-Nazaire, dismissing the appeals filed by environmental associations. After examining the merits of the appeal proceedings, France’s highest administrative court rejected the applications by the Groupement des résidents pour la sauvegarde environnementale de La Baule and the Association pour la protection du site et de l’environnement de Sainte-Marguerite. The Council of State’s decision allows EDF Renewables and its Canadian partner Enbridge to continue development of the project. Construction of this first French offshore wind farm began in September 2019.
• Following a public tender procedure, France’s Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition selected the EDF group, via its subsidiary EDF Renewables, in partnership with Innogy and Enbridge, to design, build, operate and maintain the future Dunkirk offshore wind farm off France’s north coast. This is the fourth offshore project that the Group has won through French government tender procedures, after its successful bids for three projects in 2012 at Saint-Nazaire, Fécamp and Courseulles-sur-Mer. The future Dunkirk wind farm will be more than 10km off the coast and will have installed capacity of almost 600MW. It will supply the equivalent of around 40% of the département du Nord's electricity needs.These projects are being undertaken with industrial partners, and are accounted for under the equity method in the Group’s consolidated financial statements.

3.4.2 Acquisition of the Luxel Group

On 28 March 2019, EDF Renewables acquired the Luxel Group, an independent photovoltaic energy operator in France which holds a portfolio of 1GWc of projects already in operation, ready to build or under development. This acquisition significantly reinforces EDF Renewables’ position in solar power in France, with a view to achieving the ambitious objectives in EDF’s Solar Plan.

3.4.3 Signature of agreements in China for two offshore wind farms and heat network optimisation

On 25 March 2019 EDF signed two agreements for low-carbon projects in China:

• the cooperation agreement signed with China Energy Investment, a leading industrial player on China’s electricity market, concerns EDF’s acquisition of a stake in the Dongtai IV and V offshore wind power projects, located off the coast of Jiangsu Province north of Shanghai;
• the Dongtai IV and Dongtai V projects are currently being built. Subject to execution of the final contracts, both partners will build and operate total installed capacity of 500MW which will be gradually commissioned up until 2021;
• EDF and the electricity utility Huadian have signed a cooperation agreement to enhance the performance of a heating and air-conditioning network for one of the districts of the city of Wuhan in central China. The network will eventually provide heating for 100,000 customers and air-conditioning for 500,000m2 of office space. The signatories will jointly examine the feasibility of incorporating all the smart energy management tools that are already being used by the EDF Group for the heating network in the city of Sanmenxia.

3.4.4 Noor Midelt I solar project in Morocco

After a competitive international bidding process, the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) announced in 2019 that it had chosen the consortium formed by EDF (through its subsidiary EDF Renewables), Masdar (also known as the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company), and Green of Africa (a Moroccan developer of renewable energies) for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the first phase of the Noor Midelt I multi-technologies solar power plant.

With an installed capacity of 800MW, this hybrid solar project will use an innovative combination of concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

3.4.5 Offshore wind power: EDF launches the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm with ESB

On 28 November 2019 the EDF Group announced the construction of the Scottish Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm project and a new partnership with the Irish electricity company ESB, which is taking a 50% stake in the project, acquired in May 2018 from Mainstream Renewable Power (see note 5.2 to the financial statements at 31 December 2018). ESB operates across the electricity market on the island of Ireland, from generation, through transmission and distribution to the supply of customers with an expanding presence across Great Britain. In 2017, ESB opened an office in Scotland and is spearheading further development of renewable energy projects, in particular onshore and offshore wind power.

The 450MW NnG project is part of EDF’s offshore wind power development strategy and confirms its position in carbon-free energy production in the United Kingdom, a country where EDF already has a strong footprint in both nuclear and renewable power.

Neart na Gaoithe⁽¹⁾ will consist of 54 turbines and will be located in the North Sea approximately 15km off the coast of Fife in south-east Scotland. When fully operational, the NnG offshore wind farm will generate electricity equivalent to the annual needs of over 375,000 households each year, corresponding to 4% of Scotland’s electricity consumption. This fully consented offshore wind project has a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) at £114.39/MWh in 2012 sterling, and grid connection agreements are in place.

Onshore construction of components is now underway. Offshore construction should start in June 2020 and full commissioning is expected in 2023.

This sale operation was completed on 4 December 2019 and accounts for a large share of EDF Renewables’ gains on sales of generation assets in 2019 (a total €560 million, recorded in other operating income and expenses, compared to €192 million in 2018 – see note 12.2) and contributed a €1.2 billion reduction in the EDF group’s net indebtedness, due to the debt-reducing effect of loss of control over NnG.

Following this sale, the 50% holding in NnG, stated at fair value, is accounted for by the equity method.

3.4.6 Acquisition of a significant pipeline of 300MW wind projects under development in Germany

On 12 September 2019 EDF Renewables announced the acquisition of a significant wind projects pipeline of around 300MW under development across Germany from Altus AG. Altus AG will pursue the local development of these projects closely with EDF Renewables up to the construction of the future wind farms.

Located in 10 different federal states, the projects are at various stages of the development process. The land lease contracts have been secured and environmental studies are ongoing.

Once fully authorised, the projects will participate in the onshore wind power auctions organized by the German Federal Government in order to secure 20-year Power Purchase Agreements.

These wind farms should be commissioned during the next five years.

(1) Gaelic for “strength of the wind”.