Statkraft concludes three additional PPAs in France

Based on the agreements, Statkraft will purchase power and capacity certificates from the wind projects of Audincthun (14.1 MW), Belleuse (11 MW) and Lavacquerie (15.4 MW).

“We are very pleased to strengthen our partnership with Valeco, a key contributor to the energy transition in France, by concluding together three new power purchase agreements”, explains Clément Perchat, Business Developer France at Statkraft.

“Valeco was one of our first customers in France as we already provide a full market access solution for their Prémont wind farm. With these new purchase agreements, recognised by the main financing banks, Statkraft contributes to the financing of new installations and facilitates the further expansion of renewable power in France,” adds Clément Perchat.

Main partner

“Direct selling of electricity to power markets is one of our new businesses for 18 months. We have various partners for the aggregation business. However, with the conclusion of these three new contracts, Statkraft becomes our main partner. Our first wind farm is being operated by Statkraft under a power purchase agreement since summer 2018 and we are fully satisfied with their job," says Clémence Charlot, in charge of the sale of electricity at Valeco.

“To pursue the full integration of renewable power plants into the electricity markets, our ambition for 2019 is to sign a first corporate PPA. Regarding Statkraft’s broad experience in this matter, we also plan to start discussions on this topic.”

The wind projects will be commissioned in May and September 2019. They are located in the Pas de Calais, Somme and Oise departments, respectively. Valeco will operate the wind farms from Montpellier, where the company’s operation centre is located, with technical support based in Amiens.

Statkraft will integrate these installations in its balancing group and will control them remotely to ensure the automatic downregulation of production during negative price events.

In 2017, Statkraft and Valeco signed their first power purchase agreement for the 38 MW wind farm Prémont in Hauts de France. The wind projects of Audincthun, Belleuse and Lavacquerie are also located in this region.

Market access in France

Since the start of the new “complément de rémunération” support scheme for renewable energy producers, Statkraft has been offering developers and investors a complete solution: a purchase agreement underpinned by a strong financial rating, along with a solid process management for plant connection, the certification of capacity guarantees and REMIT reporting.

Statkraft is also working alongside with developers, investors and industry associations’ working groups on corporate PPAs, to develop new types of market access solutions in France.