Gamesa and Areva have agreed to form a joint venture to build and install wind turbines for the booming offshore sector.
The equally-owned joint venture named Adwen, will be incorporated in Spain, with corporate offices in France, Spain, UK and Germany. It will have 700 employees to design, manufacture, install, commission and service offshore wind turbines.
“Combining both Gamesa and Areva wind expertise and extensive track-record, Adwen is ideally positioned to become a leading player in the offshore wind segment, with a 2.8 gigawatt project pipeline and the objective of garnering a market share of close to 20% in Europe by 2020,” Gamesa said in a statement.
Adwen will offer its 8-MW platform, initiated by Areva and using Gamesa’s technology, from 2018. It has 1GW project pipeline and an outstanding energy production. The Adwen 5-MW platform will offer two complementary 5-MW turbines available for immediate projects: the AD 5-135 and AD 5-132. The AD 5-135, formerly called M5000-135, is AREVA’s 5-MW technology with an installed base of 650MW which will reach 1GW with Wikinger wind farm installation. The AD 5-132, developed by Gamesa and formerly called G132-5.0 MW Offshore, complements the product portfolio with a competitive turbine.
Adwen will manufacture the turbines at its existing plants in Germany, Bremerhaven and Stade, locations that Gamesa said are ideally positioned to equip North Sea and Baltics projects. The company will fulfil industrial commitments engaged by Areva and Gamesa, in France and in UK, comprising the creation of factories in Le Havre and the implementation of a network of suppliers and partners throughout the country.
The offshore market represents one of the most promising areas for the development of renewable energies over the next decade, particularly in the coastal countries of northern Europe, where the installed base should reach over 25GW by 2020, Gamesa said. “Besides, the experience accumulated by both partners in Asia will enable the company to benefit from the huge offshore wind potential of this region, which could reach 17GW of installed capacity by 2020,” it added.