The Rives Charentaises wind farm has delivered its first megawatt-hours to SNCF Voyageurs

Straddling two departements, Charente and Vienne (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), the wind farm began generating electricity in August with its first eight turbines. The remaining nine turbines will gradually be brought into service by the end of November, to reach a total output of 37.4 megawatts. Annual production will be around 78 gigawatt-hours, saving the equivalent of 12,700 tonnes of CO₂ a year.

The wind farm is backed by a sales contract with SNCF Voyageurs, via its in-house electricity supplier SNCF Energie, which will buy all the plant's output for 25 years. The wind farm will cover 1.4% of SNCF Voyageurs' traction electricity consumption.

"In the current European context, marked by considerable challenges in terms of energy supply, it is imperative to accelerate the growth of competitive, locally produced renewable energies. We are therefore particularly pleased to announce the start of deliveries of the Rives Charentaises park to SNCF Voyageurs", says Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia.