In 2022, 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. It is scheduled to be commissioned in 2024.
EDF Renewables accelerated to expand in solar power. At end 2022, gross installed solar capacity was 6,722MWp (3,194MWp net), up by 603MWp net i.e. +23% compared to end 2021.
EDF Renewables also has a portfolio of solar projects under construction of 3,526MWp gross.
EDF Renewables has structured its policy for contributing to the Solar Plan launched by the Group in December 2017. EDF is implementing a strategy covering all market segments. Such strategy is based on an integrated development model for projects up to their operation, the quest for industrial excellence and continued investment in innovation. This strategy leverages EDF’s research and development and the territorial networking of EDF’s teams dedicated to local authorities and businesses. The lands targeted as a priority are sites referred to as “damaged”, i.e. industrial wastelands, polluted, abandoned or former quarry sites, which can be rehabilitated with the development of photovoltaic projects. The company is also looking to develop agrivoltaic solar projects.
EDF Renewables commissioned 17 solar power plants in 2022, with total capacity of 134.7MW, and launched the construction of solar power plants with 264MW net capacity. EDF’s portfolio of solar projects in France includes 570MWp of authorised projects by the end of 2022.
EDF Renewables won contracts for a total capacity of 141MWp of solar power in the CRE’s 2022 call for tenders.
Innovation also supports the development of solar power, notably in the form of:
Some projects include a crowdfunding campaign, enabling the inhabitants of a region to be involved with the funding of the projects in question. This was the case for 19 power plants in 2022.
EDF Renewables entered into an agreement with the Anglo American group to set up a joint venture, Envusa Energy, and launch a pipeline of over 600MW worth of wind and solar power projects, with construction due to begin in 2023 (3). Envusa Energy is aiming to have installed capacity of 3-5GW by 2030.
South Jeddah, with capacity of 300MW, is EDF Renewables’ first solar power project in Saudi Arabia. 68% of the solar panels have now been installed and the first MWh has been produced by the project. It will be completed in the second quarter of 2023.
After having commissioned the Maverick 6 and 7 solar power plants in California in 2021 with total installed capacity of almost 310MW, in 2022 EDF Renewables
North America commissioned the Arrow Canyon and Holliday Creek power plants (275MW and 117MW respectively).
Construction of the Fox Squirrel and Desert Quartzite solar power plants (753MW and 377MW respectively) was also launched in 2022, giving a combined total of over 1GW. EDF Renewables and Ameren Missouri also announced that they had entered into an agreement for the Huck Finn solar power project, with installed capacity of 200MW and commissioning scheduled in 2024.
The consortium consisting of EDF Renewables and the Chinese firm Jinko Power Technology Co. Ltd. is continuing to build the Al Dhafra solar power plant, with commissioning scheduled in 2023. The future solar power plant will be located 35km south of Abu Dhabi. With installed capacity of 2GW, it will be the most powerful solar farm in the world, supplying electricity to the equivalent of 160,000 local households each year.
EDF Renewables is developing its solar power business through EDEN Renewables India, a joint subsidiary created for this purpose in 2016 by EDF and Total EREN (4).EDEN is completing construction of the SECI III photovoltaic plant (450MW) in Rajasthan in the North of India.
EDF Renewables acquired a stake in SkyX Energy, a rooftop solar developer in Vietnam.
In 2021, EDF Renewables successfully responded to the call for tenders of the municipality of Netanya to develop rooftop solar. In 2022, 22 projects were connected to the grid; a further 26 projects are under construction. In all, 50MW will be connected by 2024.
More generally, in 2022 EDF Renewables commissioned 10 solar power plants in Israel with total installed capacity of over 100MW, including three floating solar power plants. Two solar power plants, one of them floating (Burgata), are under construction and due to be commissioned in 2023 (5).
The Sutton Bridge solar power plant, with capacity of 49.9MW, is currently under construction. This is EDF Renewables’ first major solar power project in the United Kingdom (6). The subsidiary has also entered into an agreement with Network Rail to develop the Bloy’s Grove solar farm in Norfolk, with capacity of 49.9MW. This will cover approximately 15% of Network Rail’s annual power use. The project forms part of an existing partnership between Network Rail and the EDF group in the United Kingdom to supply traction power.
As an integrated operator, EDF Renewables operates and maintains most of its own facilities. Dedicated first and foremost to EDF group wind and solar assets, this activity is also carried out on behalf of third parties. Worldwide, EDF Renewables operates 17.4GW at end December 2022 with over 1,000 experts, engineers and technicians across nine countries. EDF Renewables has long been active in the operation-maintenance field in North America where it manages over 13GW. The business in Europe and the rest of the world exceeds 4GW at end 2022.
This activity is driven by commissioning new plants and choosing which facilities to operate on a case-by-case basis according to technology and region. The aim is to achieve maximum efficiency in every facility in conjunction with providers throughout the expected or extended useful life of equipment.
Accordingly, EDF Renewables recently set up a predictive maintenance oversight centre (e-Diagnostic Center) drawing on specific in-house expertise centralised and coordinated with the EDF group’s R&D Department. It complements the facility remote monitoring and control system made up of two real-time oversight centres in Colombiers (France) and San Diego (California).
(1) See the press release dated 21 February 2022 “EDF group and its partners launch Vitisolar: An experimental agrivoltaic project in vineyards in the Bordeaux region”.
(2) See the EDF Renewables press release dated 18 March 2022 “Anglo American partners with EDF Renewables to secure 100% renewable energy supply for South Africa operations”.
(3) See the EDF Renewables press release dated 19 April 2022: “EDF Renewables starts construction of a ground-based solar power plant for self-consumption to power the Sanofi factory in Aramon, (Gard)”.
(4) Formerly EREN Renewable Energy.
(5) See the EDF Renewables press release dated 8 June 2022: “EDF Renewables commissions four solar power plants, including two floating, in Israel”.
(6) See the EDF Renewables press release dated 28 April 2022: “Construction begins on solar farm at Sutton Bridge” (edf-re.uk).
