The contract with joint project investors Diamond Generating Europe and EDF Energies Nouvelles specifies Siemens SWT-3.0-101 wind turbines, the first direct-drive units the company has supplied to France.
Siemens will install and commission the turbines at the sites in the Nord Pas-de-Calais and Picardie regions, and will also be responsible for their maintenance over 15 years. They are scheduled to start producting electricity next year.
"Compared to conventional wind turbine technology, our direct-drive wind turbine has half the components and substantially fewer rotating parts," said Jan Kjaersgaard, Siemens Wind Power CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"This enhances reliability and reduces the maintenance scope for the plants. We are pleased to be installing this future-oriented technology for the first time onshore in France."
