Wind Market France: Boralex Commissions First Repowering Wind Farm in The Somme Department

Paris, France - Canadian renewable energy operator Boralex has commissioned the repowering wind farm Bougainville in the French department of Somme (Hauts-de-France region).

Commissioned in 2005, the Bougainville wind farm is the first wind energy project in the Somme department to replace existing turbines with modern wind turbines. By repowering and replacing the 6 old turbines with a total capacity of 12 MW with 6 Vestas V126 turbines with a total capacity of 18 MW, Boralex expects to increase the production of the wind farm operated by the RENIXX Group since 2018 by more than 50 percent.

Boralex has consistently pursued its sustainability goals in the project. For example, the old turbines will be sold on the European second-hand market. All the material recovered from the foundations (concrete and steel) was sent to the appropriate recycling channels to be reused in construction and public works.

"Given the positive environmental impact, the production gains from technological advancements, the extension of our engagement with territories accustomed to wind power and the rapid speed of deployment, wind farm repowering is a concrete response to the government’s stated aim of accelerating renewable energy production," said Nicolas Wolff, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Boralex, Europe.

The multi-year energy programme published by the French government in April 2020 aims to more than double the country's installed wind power capacity to 34,000 MW by 2028. At the end of 2021, 19,000 MW were installed.

Boralex is a leader in the Canadian market and France's largest independent producer of onshore wind power. In addition, Boralex is active in the US market and in the UK. In the last five years, its capacity has more than doubled to 2,500 MW. Under development is a portfolio of nearly 4,000 MW of wind and solar projects and nearly 800 MW of storage projects.

Boralex shares have gained 2.1 percent so far in today's trading to a price of 27.24 euros (4.15 p.m., Nov. 24, Stuttgart Stock Exchange). Since the turn of the year, the Boralex share has thus gained 17 percent.

Source: IWR Online, Nov 11 2022