Falck Renewables officially opens its tenth wind farm in France with community benefit scheme agreed for local development projects

Falck Renewables officially opens its new wind farm in Illois, Seine-Maritime department, France. The six-turbine wind farm, which came into commercial operation last July, has an installed capacity of 12 MW and an estimated annual production of around 28 GWh, enough to power approximately 6,600 households.

Local politicians, and representatives of community group Association Bien Vivre à Illois who will administer the community benefit fund joined Falck Renewables’ representatives at yesterday’s opening ceremony.

"We are delighted to officially open our new wind farm in France with our local partners. To us a new plant not only means generating more energy from renewable sources, contributing to national decarbonization objectives and increasing energy independence. It also means creating shared value with and for the local community around the wind farm", said Toni Volpe, CEO of Falck Renewables.

“Security of the electricity supply is becoming more and more important; we must move with the times and look after our environment for future generations. Thanks to constructive dialogue with Falck Renewables, the former and current municipal council have obtained significant commitments for Illois and its inhabitants”, said Bernard Haudiquert, Mayor of Illois.

As part of the community benefit scheme agreed with Association Bien Vivre à Illois, Falck Renewables will provide an annual sum for local projects in the fields of sustainable development, education, culture, sport, leisure, and the promotion of the municipality of Illois.

“We are glad to partner with Falck Renewables on a community benefit scheme that will enable us to restore the entrance hall of the association’s building, to install picnic seats and tables, and build a playground and a pétanque ground”, said Jean-Baptiste Quesada, President of Association Bien Vivre à Illois.

During the project development phase, special consideration was given to the bird and bat species living in the region, which was reflected in the location of the turbines. The area is also rich in archaeological sites, seven of which are in the vicinity of the wind farm. These have been fully integrated in the layout of the wind farm, so that any new archaeological excavations can be carried out while the wind farm is operating.

"We are proud to keep growing in France, with the official opening of our tenth French wind farm and an overall capacity of 110 MW installed in the country", said Bertrand Le Mouëllic, Falck Renewables' Country Manager in France. “While developing and constructing the wind farm we looked carefully at the specific environmental and social needs of the area to ensure they were integrated in a sustainable way into our plans. The input of the Mayor and the local community was invaluable and we thank them and look forward to working together and supporting each other in the coming years.”