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RWE Power has formally commissioned two new wind parks at Tourville-la-Chapelle and Gouchaupré, Normandy with a total plant capacity is 20 MW, for a total investment of €24m.
"We're doing something to protect the climate and conserve primary energy resources. That's why the expansion of renewables is a high priority for us," explains Dr. Gerd Jäger, RWE Power AG's Chairman with specific responsibility for nuclear power plants and renewables-based energy. He adds, "these two wind parks are the first of our wind projects now being developed in France, which will have a total capacity of 200 MW." The company is going to invest massively in the next few years, especially in electricity generation from wind and hydro power as well as biomass.
It has taken one year to build the wind turbines, numbering eight in total. Each outputting 2.5 MW, the turbines stand 125 metres high and have a rotor diameter of 90 metres. The electricity generated here is sufficient to serve the annual needs of at least 14 500 households. The two new wind parks mean RWE now has a total of 65 MW of installed power plant capacity from renewable energy sources in France. Over two-thirds of this comes from run-of-river power stations.
The company is set to expand its activities further in Germany's western neighbour. In south-western France, in the département of Aveyron, one of the largest onshore wind parks in the country is to be built. In a joint venture with Total, around €100 m will be raised to build plants which will supply 90 MW. Commissioning is planned for 2010.
RWE Power is currently building another two wind parks, to supply around 70 MW, in Poland. The company's 200 MW of wind-based capacity in Spain is also being increased. UK affiliate RWE npower is planning to add more off and onshore wind fields to its existing portfolio, of 480 MW installed capacity. "We're investing to expand our renewables where this makes economic and ecological sense. So we're looking at the whole of Europe," stresses Jäger. RWE Power is seeking to tap further potential in the use of biomass and hydropower.
This year RWE Power has already commissioned its first biogas plant, located at its Grevenbroich-Neurath site. More plants of this type are set to follow. The company is also building a new hydro-electric power station, spending €70 m at Albbruck-Dogern. The site lies on the upper Rhine between Lake Constance and Basel. Capacity at this power plant site will total 104 MW on completion in 2009.
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