France: Gamesa to supply 36 MW to French developer Valorem

Gamesa, a global technology leader in wind energy, continues to make inroads with its business strategy in Europe, having received its first order from French wind power developer Valorem for the supply of 36 MW at three wind farms.

Specifically, the company will supply and install eight G114-2.5 MW turbines at the Santerre wind farm, located in the department of Somme, in northern France, five G87-2.0 MW turbines at the Soulanes wind farm and three G87-2.0 MW turbines at the Albine facility, the last two located in the department of Tarn, in the south.

These turbines will be delivered during the fourth quarter of this year and these facilities will be commissioned from March 2017. The company will also provide these facilities' operation and maintenance (O&M) services during the next ten years.

It is worth noting that these three wind farms will have enough capacity to meet the demand for electricity of around 35,000 French households and will prevent emissions equivalent to those generated by 18,000 cars in one year.

Gamesa in France

This agreement not only marks the start of business dealings with Valorem but also reinforces Gamesa's strategy in France, a market it first entered back in 2000.

Since then, the company has emerged as a benchmark industrial group, having installed 790 MW. In addition to turbine manufacture and the development of wind farms, the company's vertically-integrated strategy in this market extends to the provision of O&M services under value-added programmes designed to maximise power output, increase facility availability and reduce maintenance costs, all with the overriding goal of rationalising its customers' cost of energy (CoE).