In 2020, the electricity production of EDF Renewables’ fully consolidated fleet across all segments and countries was 23.4TWh. The load factor reached at end 2020 30%in onshore wind power generation and 16% in solar power generation.
For details of renewables activities in Italy and Belgium, see sections 1.4.5.2 “Italy”and 1.4.5.3.1 “Northern Europe” respectively.
During the course of 2020, EDF Renewables actively pursued its development in onshore wind power, thus contributing to EDF group’s CAP 2030 strategy. EDFRenewables had a gross total of 9,420.2MW onshore wind power capacity in operation as of the end of 2020. Onshore wind farms with a gross capacity of2,395.7MW were commissioned in 2020, onshore wind farms under construction represented a gross capacity of 2,380.4MW at 31 December 2020.
EDF Renewables pursued its development in wind power, commissioning almost54.5MW more in 2020, in wind farms in Fontaine (13.2MW), Allain ville (16.9MW), Petit Canal (9MW) and Mottenberg (15.4MW). In addition to these new capacities, several wind farms are under construction for a total of some 146.8MW.
In 2020, EDF Renewables continued with the construction of the "Beaujolais Vert" project (12MW), the first wind farm in the Rhône département. EDF Renewables wasawarded 74MW of wind farm projects in CRE calls for tender (Champ Gourleau, Longues Roies, Telegraphe, Sud Arrageois, Mottenberg).
In 2020, EDF Renewables commissioned the Burn foot East wind farm, with a capacity of 10.8MW.
EDF Renewables launched the construction of three wind farm projects, with a total capacity of 68MW; these were awarded in calls for tender at the end of 2019.
In March 2020, EDF Renewables and Alliant commissioned the Golden Plains wind farm project in Iowa, with installed capacity of 200MW.
In October 2020, EDF Renewables and Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc. (PEC) signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 100MW share in the KingCreek 1 project (Texas). Construction began at the end of 2020.
Phase 1 of the Folha Larga Norte wind farm in the State of Bahia, Brazil, under construction since 2019, was commissioned in the second half of 2020. Phase 2 will be commissioned in 2021. This new project, comprising 82 wind turbines and installed capacity of 344MW, will result in EDF Renewables having wind power projects totalling 526MW in operation in Bahia. EDF Renewables has been operating in Brazil since 2015, and is one of the country’s leaders in the renewableenergy industry. EDF Renewables also owns the Ventos da Bahia wind farm located in the municipalities of Bonito and Mulungu do Morro, with a total capacity of365MW, including 182MW under construction.
In 2020, EDF Renewables (lead contractor) continued with the construction of the Dumat Al Jandal project in a consortium with Masdar and Nesma. With installed capacity of 416MW, this will be by 2022 the first such wind farm in Saudi Arabia and the most powerful one in the Middle East.
EDF Renewables and Mitsui & Co. Ltd., an international trading and investment group with a diversified business portfolio, commenced the worksite for the first phase of the Taza wind farm (87MW) in northern Morocco.
Offshore wind power represents a strong area in EDF Renewables’ development. The company already has operations on the offshore wind power market, with 6.5GW of projects under development, under construction, in service, or under management and maintenance. EDF Renewables has operations in Europe (Germany, Belgium,France, Ireland, United Kingdom), where it is the ninth largest player, with 1.4GW of projects under construction. It is also present in China, and has positioned itself in the United States.
EDF Renewables is the offshore wind power leader, with four out of seven projects awarded in the calls for tender launched by the French State.
EDF Renewables is also conducting a pilot offshore wind farm project (ProvenceGrand Large) in the Mediterranean, based on floating wind power technology.
In 2020, EDF Renewables continued the construction of the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in partnership with Irish electricity company ESB. This 450MW project is located in the Firth of Forth on the eastern coast of Scotland.
At the end of 2018, EDF Renewables set up a 50-50 joint venture, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC, with Shell New Energies U.S. llc (Shell). The purpose of this joint venture is to develop offshore wind turbines on a site located in the New Jersey wind energy area (WEA) under a lease issued by the US federal authorities. The area covered by the lease has a potential for wind power generation of about 2,500MW.The area offers strong and steady wind resources in relatively shallow water, close to large population centres with high electricity demand. In December 2020, the joint venture submitted a bid in the call for tender launched by the State of New Jersey to install between 1,200MW and 2,400MW of offshore wind turbines.
In 2020, EDF Renewables positioned itself in Ireland by acquiring 50% of theCodling offshore wind project, in partnership with Fred Olsen Renewables Ltd., in order to develop and build this future offshore wind project(2). With a potential of1GW, this project is located south of Dublin, 13km off the coast of County Wicklow.
In 2020, EDF (EDF Renewables and EDF China) and China Energy InvestmentCorporation (CEI) announced that they ealed their industrial partnership with the final joint venture agreements for offshore wind power projects with total capacity of502MW located off the coast of Jiangsu Province, north of Shanghai, China(3). The new joint venture operates the Dongtai IV wind farm and is currently constructing the Dongtai V project.
(1)See EDF Renewables’ press release dated 2 June 2020 “EDF Renewables, Enbridge and wpd start construction of the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm ”.
(2) See EDF Renewables’ press release dated 11 February 2020 “The EDF group moves into Ireland by acquiring 50% of the Codling offshore wind project”..
(3) See EDF Renewables’ press release dated 2 June 2020 “EDF and CEI Groups join hands for offshore wind projects under construction and operational in China ”.
