Saint-Nazaire, France (November 23, 2022) – EDF Renewables and EIH S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) and CPP Investments, have achieved a significant milestone as France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, the 480-megawatt Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, is now fully operational.

Located between 12 and 20 km from the southwest coast of France, the wind farm will help support the French State’s energy transition goals, which include targets to generate 32% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. By providing secure, low carbon, affordable and reliable energy, Saint-Nazaire is also responding to the global energy challenge at a crucial time. The wind farm will produce the equivalent of 20% of the Loire-Atlantique's annual electricity consumption and supply the equivalent of the consumption of 700,000 people with electricity every year. To celebrate this milestone, an inauguration will take place today in Saint-Nazaire, France.

After nearly three years of construction, the Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm first produced electricity at the beginning of June 2022 and proceeded to incrementally connect its 80 wind turbines to the national electricity transmission network. About one hundred people will continue to be employed at the site to help ensure the operation and maintenance of the wind farm in La Turballe, France.

Stakeholder consultation at the heart of the project

Throughout the development and construction phases, the project team worked closely with local stakeholders. Environmental protection associations, such as France Nature Environnement, Bretagne Vivante, the League for the Protection of Birds and associated experts from the National Museum of Natural History, National Institute of Research for the Exploitation of the Sea and independent design specialists provided the knowledge needed to design the wind farm while respecting its environment and biodiversity. Fauna and flora were rigorously monitored during the various phases of the work and environmental monitoring will continue.

Energizing French industrial capabilities

EDF Renewables and EIH S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, officially launched construction of the wind farm in September 2019 alongside industrial partners and local stakeholders. The project’s construction phase contributed significantly to the emergence of a new offshore wind industrial sector in France. The contracts awarded provided French companies the opportunity to increase their expertise to gain competitiveness and seek other global opportunities. In total, during the construction phase, an average of 2,300 people were employed in France, including 1,200 in the Pays de la Loire region. The 80 nacelles and the electrical substation were manufactured in Saint-Nazaire, in the factories of General Electric Renewable Energy and Chantiers de l'Atlantique, respectively.

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