Construction Start for New W.E.B-Wind Park in France

In Northern France construction work recently began on another wind farm to expand the portfolio of WEB Windenergie AG. The new Plaine de l‘Artois wind park to the south of Lille is located in a very good wind region, with wind flow conditions comparable to those in the Austrian federal province of Burgenland. Due to prevailing land use regulations, which prescribe a maximum height for wind turbines, the 12 MW project will feature 15 Enercon Type E 53 turbines with an installed capacity of 800 kW each.

The planned annual output of the new wind farm will amount to approximately 28,000 MWh, corresponding to the yearly requirements of 9,000 average households. The total investment volume is about EUR 17 million, which is being partly financed by the proceeds derived from WEB Windenergie’s capital-raising measures in 2010. In the fall of 2010, WEB not only carried out a capital increase, but also issued Austria’s first wind power bond, thus raising a total of EUR 15.4 million to support further growth.

The project schedule calls for the required excavation and foundation work to be completed by the end of 2011 before the turbines are actually installed in the spring of 2012. The wind park should be put into operation in the middle of the upcoming year.

The construction work is in the hands of Enercon, the largest German producer of wind power plants, which is serving as the general contractor for the entire project. WEB is represented on site by Francois Poulain, a renowned French wind power expert with longstanding regional know-how. In the future, WEB plans to construct and put one new wind farm into operation each year in France in cooperation with Mr. Poulain.

“The Plaine de l’Artois site is part of our strategy to geographically spread our facilities as much as possible, and thus reduce the primarily meteorological risk to our geographical diversification to a minimum. Based on the realization of our biggest wind park in France to date, we once again show that as the Austrian wind power pioneer we are on a success path with our international projects as well”, says Andreas Dangl, founder and Chief Executive Officer of WEB Windenergie AG.

In 2012, WEB plans to construct additional wind farms with an installed capacity of about 36 MW. A further 60 MW is currently in the planning phase. These projects will also be launched in the year 2012.

W.E.B-Windpark Plaine de l’Artois – Key facts on the project

• Region Nord–Pas de Calais
• Municipalities Hendecourt lès Cagnicourt and Vis en Artois
• 15 turbines each with 800 kW installed capacity
• Producer and plant type: Enercon E 53
• Hub height: 50 m
• Rotor diameter: 52.9 m
• Investment volume: approx. EUR 17 million
• Planned start-up: early summer of 2012