Alstom is planning to establish two sites for the production of offshore wind turbines in France

Alstom is planning to establish up to two sites dedicated to the production of components and to the assembly of 6MW offshore wind turbines in the port areas of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) and Cherbourg (Manche).

The dimensioning of the project will depend on the success in the call for tenders of the consortium led by EDF EN to which Alstom belongs. Alstom’s investments could reach € 100 million. If the consortium is selected at a level that ensures an industrial critical mass, Alstom plans to establish:

• in Saint-Nazaire, the nacelles and generators manufacturing activities, to which would be added, still in Loire-Atlantique, Alstom’s offshore engineering centre.
• in Cherbourg, the production of the blades, in partnership with LM Wind Power, as well as the towers manufacturing workshop, which would be set up by Alstom’s supplier, chosen subsequen

This choice of the production sites falls within Alstom’s offshore technology development plan. The first prototype will be erected for an onshore test at the beginning of 2012 before the offshore installation of a second machine in the same year. The pre-serial production units are planned in 2013 with a view to serial production from 2014.