Iberdrola and Eole-Res announced today that they have signed an agreement with Neoen Marine to assist in the development, ahead of bid submission for the French Offshore wind power tender launched by the French Government in July 2011.

The Iberdrola and Eole-Res led consortium, together with industrial partners Areva and construction and engineering firm Technip, signed an agreement with Neoen Marine, specialists in the development of offshore wind projects, jointly owned by the Neoen Group and the Caisse et Depots et Consignations.

The consortium will bid for two areas off the French Coast: Saint-Brieuc (located in the Côte d’Armor County) and Saint-Nazaire (located in the Loire-Atlantique County).

The consortium welcomes the contribution of Neoen Marine’s valuable experience in developing sustainable offshore wind projects. Neoen’s know-how in project development, its strong relationships in the targeted areas and technical and environmental knowledge will reinforce the work of the consortium.

Neoen Marine will particularly be involved in the local consultation process and stakeholder relations. It will also assist the other consortium members in conducting environmental and technical studies and in obtaining the necessary administrative consents. Neoen Marine joins Areva and Technip in providing expert support, knowledge and experience of the region, all of which will contribute significantly to completing these major wind farm projects.

Iberdrola and Eole-Res formed a 70 – 30 partnership earlier this year to jointly bid for the two projects in Saint-Brieuc and Saint-Nazaire, which could represent a combined capacity of between 900 and 1250 MW.
Iberdrola is the largest wind energy company in the world and has an installed capacity of over 13 500 MW. In France it owns and operates 311 MW of wind energy totaling 33 wind farms. In the offshore field, Iberdrola is developing a portfolio of over 12 000 MW, primarily in the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Eole-Res is one of the leading wind energy developers in France and to date has delivered nearly 500 MW of onshore wind projects. The company has also been developing offshore wind projects for over a decade. Eole-Res’ savoir-faire is backed up by its sister company RES Offshore5, which has developed a unique competence in offshore wind, and has worked on close to 500 MW in operation or in construction and is supporting the development of a portfolio of nearly 5000 MW

Jean-Christophe Chomette, Director of Iberdrola France said: “Thanks to a wealth of experience in the offshore sector, the different partners of our consortium have complementary and invaluable skills. Neoen Marine will reinforce our group’s dynamics. They share our vision and will to succeed and are already making considerable contributions to the work of the consortium.”

Jean-Marc Armitano, CEO of Eole-Res declared: Neoen Marine’s added value comes not only from its in-depth knowledge of the targeted zones but also from its approach to project acceptability; these skills are in perfect coherence with those of the consortium and they will ensure an harmonious development of offshore wind farms.

Xavier Barbaro, CEO of Neoen added: Neoen Marine is a historical reference in the offshore wind sector in France. We have chosen to join the consortium led by Iberdrola and Eole-Res, because we are convinced that the maturity of Areva’s and Technip’s technical solutions, as well as the leading role played by the consortium in the emergence of a dynamic French industry turned towards export, are in perfect coherence not only with the objectives of the offshore wind power tender, but also with the expectations of the local population, both from an industrial and energy point of view. We are thus proud to share our know-how and contribute to the success of the Saint-Brieuc and Saint-Nazaire projects conducted by the consortium.

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. IBERDROLA www.iberdrola.com is one of the five largest power companies in the world, present in 40 countries. It is the world leader in the wind energy field with an installed capacity of over 13 500 MW worldwide. The company has been present in France since 2005 where it develops, constructs and operates renewable energy power plants. It owns and operates 33 wind farms totaling 311 MW of wind energy. IBERDROLA’s head office is located in Paris, and also has offices in Nantes and Rennes. IBERDROLA owns a project portfolio of approximately 12 500 MW of offshore energy, thus becoming one of the major actors of the field.
2. EOLE-RES www.eoleres.com is specialised in the design, development, financing, construction and operation of renewable energy production plants (wind and solar) in France. Present on the French market for more than 15 years, EOLE-RES is today behind nearly 500 MW of wind farms, constructed or under construction. The company is a subsidiary of RES Medtierranean www.res-med.eu
3. NEOEN MARINE is an offshore wind development specialist, subsidiary of NEOEN www.neoen.fr and the CAISSE DES DÉPÔTS. NEOEN develops, finances, constructs and operates renewable energy power plants: wind farms, solar and biomass plants. Supported by its shareholders, NEOEN aims to become one of the leading French renewable energy suppliers with an objective of 800 MW of installed capacity by 2015. NEOEN is also a leader in the development of large scale PV solar power plants in Portugal.
4. The French Government announced its objective of reaching 6000 MW of offshore capacity by 2020. The first phase of this program (totaling 3000 MW) was launched on July 11 2011, and it expects the development of five wind farms off the French coasts.
5. RES Offshore www.res-offshore.com offers integrated development, engineering, construction and O&M services for utility-scale marine energy projects. RES Offshore has successfully applied its development, engineering and technical skills and experience to a number of successful offshore projects and has so far consented over 350MW MW of offshore capacity in the UK. EOLE-RES and RES Offshore are part of the RES Group www.res-group.com, one of the world's leading renewable energy project developers.