Ocean Winds, Sumitomo Corporation and Banque des Territoires have reached a final investment decision for the 496MW Dieppe Le Tréport offshore wind project, off France.
The shareholders of Eoliennes en Mer Dieppe Le Tréport (EMDT) expect the €2.7bn project, located in the English Channel, to be commissioned in 2026.
The development involves robust international public and private financing, led by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a syndicate of 16 banks: six French, four Japanese, two British, two Spanish, one German and one Dutch.
The financing is provided through shareholders backed financing and non-recourse debt. It was raised with the support of Société Générale, which acted as the financial advisor to the project.
“I would like to thank the teams and our partners for their dedication in reaching this emblematic milestone!” said president of Eoliennes en Mer Dieppe Le Tréport Paolo Cairo. “We will continue the collective adventure of building the EMDT windfarm with the same enthusiasm.”
The wind farm will be located 15km off Tréport and 17km off Dieppe and will host 62 wind turbines.
The project was a winner in 2014 of the call for tenders launched by the state in 2013 and has been in development since then.
From 2024, maritime work will start with the installation of the monopiles. At the same time, RTE, which is responsible for the connection of the wind farm, will set up a double submarine connection to transfer the electricity generated at sea to the onshore grid.
The installation of the jackets and the electrical substation built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire will follow in 2025.
DEME will be responsible for the transport and installation of the foundations, the substation and the construction, transport and installation of the inter array cables in 2026.
The wind turbines, produced by Siemens Gamesa in its Le Havre facility, will be installed by Jan de Nul Group during 2026.
The construction phase of the wind farm will create 1300 direct jobs in France.