GE has been selected to supply 27 2.85-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to French developers Boralex, InnoVent and a Belgic company for the Roye projects in north of Paris.
The project is slated for installation in three villages in Picardy (Andechy, Goyencourt and Villers-lès-Roye), about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Paris. The projects will include 16 GE 2.85-103 wind turbines.
The Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais regions are well suited for wind projects because of high winds and large agricultural areas available for installations. There is already more than 1,000 MW of wind energy in Picardy and 500 MW in Nord Pas-de-Calais.
The new Roye projects are located near the existing Laucort and Beuvraignes wind farm built by other developers but also powered by GE wind turbines.
For the Fortel projects, GE will install 11 of the same turbines in the village of Fortel-en-Artois, in Nord Pas-de-Calais in northern France.
Patrick Decostre, managing director Europe, Boralex, said, “GE’s wind technology is amongst the world’s best and its high-power output and reliability will ensure project success, but what attracted us just as much was that GE shares our view on the importance of health and safety issues.”
The contracts include wind turbine manufacturing, shipment, installation and a five-year service agreement. The service agreement covers all planned maintenance such as remote monitoring, routine services, preventative maintenance and on-site and parts support. It also covers unplanned maintenance such as up-tower inspection/repair, condition monitoring and turbine performance and life-extension solutions.
Cliff Harris, general manager of GE’s renewable energy business in Europe, said, “We have a safety culture born from GE’s aircraft engines, gas turbines and nuclear business as well as the railroad and medical industries, all of which have been applied to our wind business.”
GE’s 2.85-103-MW wind turbine offers high output along with high efficiency, reliability and grid connection capabilities. The rotor length of 103 meters, in combination with GE’s advanced grid integration technology, helps balance power output with rapid demand and dispatch cycles, ensuring that these units support the highest reliability and availability standards within Europe.