On Friday June 22, 2018, Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman and CEO of the EDF Group, Bruno Bensasson, Group Executive Director in charge of the Renewable Energy Sector and Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF Energy inaugurated two innovative projects in the United Kingdom: the Blyth offshore wind farm and the West Burton B battery storage facility.
Blyth offshore wind farm
Located off the Northumberland coast, the Blyth offshore wind farm is made up of five turbines with a total capacity of 41.5 MW. It integrates several innovations which contribute to increasing the competitiveness of off-shore wind power.
Blyth is the first offshore wind farm to use “float and submerge” technology. The wind turbines are based on gravity foundations transported by flotation, which helps reduce costs during the installation phase. The 8.3 MW unit power turbines are among the most powerful in the world of this type to be installed at sea. A branch dedicated to the operation and maintenance of the park has been created at the port of Blyth and employs 9 people.
The EDF group, via EDF Renewables, already operates the Teesside offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom, with a capacity of 62 MW and located approximately 80 km from the new Blyth installations. Last May, the Group also acquired the 450 MW “Neart na Gaoithe” offshore wind farm project in Scotland, which has all administrative authorizations.
The West Burton Battery Storage Facility B
With a capacity of 49 MW, the battery storage installation located at the West Burton B power station, is the largest project in the new regulation system which will be rolled out across the UK. In a context of strong development in the production of renewable energies and the closure of aging means of production, battery storage technology makes it possible to improve the stability of the electricity network and to respond quickly to fluctuations in the frequency of this network.
Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman and CEO of the EDF Group, declared: “These two innovative projects illustrate our expertise in the field of renewable energies and electricity storage. They make an important contribution to the decarbonisation of the energy mix in the UK, our second largest market after France. These two achievements are fully in line with the EDF group's CAP 2030 strategy, which aims in particular to double EDF's production of renewable energies by 2030. They are also part of our Electric Storage Plan, which provides for the installation of 10 GW of new storage resources serving electrical systems by 2035.
Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF Energy, said: “These projects reflect how EDF is investing in new technologies to promote the development of renewable energy in the UK. In Blyth we have used innovation to reduce the cost of offshore wind and in West Burton B we are putting in place infrastructure that will ensure the viability of a system increasingly focused on low carbon energy . These two projects demonstrate our commitment to providing reliable and affordable low-carbon energy to UK consumers, using a range of technologies, including renewables, batteries and nuclear.”
Bruno Bensasson, Group Executive Director in charge of the Renewable Energy Sector, declared:“I am delighted to inaugurate these innovative projects. They prove the importance of the role that the EDF Group plays in the development of renewable energies and its ability to offer reliable solutions to ensure its expansion on a global scale. The rapid construction of Blyth highlights the EDF Group's solid expertise in offshore wind, which we intend to continue to develop on the British market, but also in France and elsewhere.”
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The EDF group, partner of the territories EDF Energy, a subsidiary of the EDF Group, is already one of the main employers in the North East of the country and Nottinghamshire, through our nuclear and thermal power stations as well as our customer service centers. The projects inaugurated today strengthen the presence of the EDF group in these two regions. Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station employs over 600 people and the Doxford Park call center employs 1,100 people while our EDF Renewables office on the outskirts of Durham has 100 staff. In Nottinghamshire, the West Burton B combined cycle gas station (with a capacity of 1,332 MW) neighbors the West Burton A thermal station (2,000 MW) and is located close to the West Burton thermal station. Cottam (2,000 MW). These plants employ a total of more than 500 people. |
About the EDF Group
A major player in the energy transition, the EDF Group is an integrated energy company, present in all businesses: production, transport, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. Leader in low-carbon energies in the world, the Group has developed a diversified production mix based on nuclear energy, hydraulics, new renewable energies and thermal energy. The Group participates in the supply of energy and services to approximately 35.1 million customers, including 26.5 million in France. In 2017, it achieved a consolidated turnover of 70 billion euros. EDF is a company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.
About EDF Energy
The leading producer of low-carbon electricity in the United Kingdom, EDF Energy – a subsidiary of the EDF group – produces around a fifth of the country's electricity, where it supplies several million individuals and businesses with electricity and gas. Electricity is produced through eight nuclear power plants, more than 30 wind farms, one gas power plant and two thermal power plants, as well as combined cycle gas power plants. In the United Kingdom, the Company employs approximately 13,000 people across sites in England and Scotland. For more information, visit the website www.edfenergy.com. EDF Energies Nouvelles is an international leader in renewable electricity with an installed capacity of more than 12 GW gross worldwide. Its development is mainly focused on wind power (onshore and offshore) and photovoltaic solar power.
About EDF Renewables in the UK
A major player in the renewable energy sector in the United Kingdom, EDF Renewables specializes primarily in the development, construction and operation of onshore and offshore wind projects, but also battery storage projects. The company also operates and maintains its own wind farms. The Company already operates over 786 MW of wind farms (including 319 MW in Scotland) and has over 1 GW under development. EDF Renewables continues to develop its renewable energy activities in Scotland, which notably includes the construction of the 177 MW Dorenell wind farm in Moray, the largest onshore wind project to be accompanied by a CFD, which is scheduled to be commissioned in end of 2018. We also recently acquired the “Neart na Gaoithe” offshore wind farm project, with a capacity of 450 MW. The company employs more than 170 people.
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