Nordex Group selling AW wind turbines in France for the first time

The Nordex Group has been awarded a new contract for the installation of a 11.5 MW wind farm in France. Developed by French power station operator Valorem, the wind farm “Aunis” marks Nordex’s first project since the merger in which AW technology will be used in France.

Whereas Nordex has installed more than 1.5 GW in France over the last 15 years or so, AW has a small presence in this market with an installed capacity of only 39 MW. “’Aunis’ shows how well the two parts of our company complement each other and how we are benefiting from the merger. In France, where Nordex has a substantially greater presence than Acciona Windpower, demand for turbines with smaller rotors remains strong due to the long and complex approval procedures,” says Patxi Landa, Chief Sales Officer of the Nordex Group.

Nordex is supplying nine AW82/1500 turbines for the “Aunis” wind farm located in the département of Charente-Maritime in the west of France. Designed for medium wind speeds, the turbines will be installed on top of 80-metre high steel tube towers. Valorem, a power station operator based in Begles Cedex, specialises solely in renewable energies and has executed wind farm projects with a total capacity of 800 MW.

Nordex will also be servicing the turbines under a 15-year premium contract in conjunction with Valemo, Valorem’s operations and maintenance subsidiary.

The Group has installed around 20 GW of wind energy capacity in over 25 markets. In 2015 Nordex and Acciona Windpower generated combined revenues of EUR 3.4 billion. The company currently employs a workforce of around 5,000. The joint manufacturing capacity includes factories in Germany, Spain, Brazil, the United States and India. The product portfolio is focused on onshore turbines in the 1.5 to 3.6 MW class, which are tailor-made for the market requirements in developed and emerging markets.