Unlocking the hidden value

While the Champagne-Ardenne region of France is best known for its sparkling white wine that bears the regions name, it’s also home to France’s largest wind farm, and two of our biggest projects in the country to date. 

The continental climate and prevailing winds make it the perfect setting for a high performing wind farm. And it’s here that Plan Fleury’s 11 turbines, each 110 m diameter and 150 m high and Renardières 7 turbines, each 126 m diameter and 150 m, are generating an average annual production of 110 GWh. That’s enough to power over 24,000 French households.  

Our specialist teams used their collective global expertise to engineer the best solution. Together, they identified opportunities to unlock hidden value in the schemes and generate more green power from them. 

We optimised the design by installing the latest turbine technology and re-orientating the wind turbines to extract greater value – small but clever adjustments that make a significant difference. The result? Wind farms that are performing 2 percent above all independent wind study predictions.  

To comply with new legislative changes in France, we had a very challenging timeframe to install the 18 Vestas turbines. Detailed pre-planning, close working with the turbine manufacturer and careful risk mitigation saw Plan Fleury and Renardières operational close to the deadline. A major achievement given the scale of the wind farms, the installation of new-technology and work commencing in the depths of winter.   

In just six months we successfully acquired, developed and sold the Plan Fleury wind farm, taking our total installed capacity in France to 94.5 MW. And wind and solar plants in our technical and commercial management up to 378 MW.

With our aim to add value and optimise a project at every turn, Plan Fleury and Renardières were perfectly executed by the team. 

By applying the latest technology on Renardières and carefully managing the risks, we’ve been rewarded. Studies already show the new-technology and bigger turbine could generate even more power than anticipated.       

Just as we identified the opportunity in Plan Fleury and Renardières, so too did Innergex. Before the wind farms were complete, the independent power producer had already acquired the wind farms to become its 14th and 15th in France, and the third and fourth in our relationship.