Boralex Inc. announced the commissioning of the Moulins du Lohan wind farm, located in the commune of Forges de Lanouée, in the Morbihan department in Brittany. With this inauguration, Boralex has reached an installed capacity of 1.2 GW in France and surpassed the 3 GW threshold worldwide.
Characteristics of the Moulins du Lohan wind farm
The Moulins du Lohan wind farm has an installed capacity of 65 MW, composed of 17 Vestas V126 wind turbines with a unit capacity of 3.8 MW. It will cover the annual energy needs of 60,000 French residents. It has been selected as the winning project in the Commission de Régulation de l’Énergie (CRE) call for tenders in period 7 in November 2020.
The wind farm: the result of a long development process
Nicolas Wolff, Executive Vice President and General Manager Europe at Boralex, said: “The Moulins du Lohan wind farm project reflects the challenges of deploying renewable energy in France. At every stage of development, we were able to demonstrate that the project was viable, but it still took more than 10 years to complete. Simplifying the procedures governing the development of renewable energy is necessary if we are to meet the objectives of France’s multi-year energy program, the PPE. Renewable energies are essential to decarbonize our society. This principle is at the heart of the new law to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, for which we have high expectations.”
Territorial cooperation and leadership
Brittany currently imports 85% of its electricity, half of which is of fossil origin. The region also has the second largest wind energy deposit in France. It has demonstrated its willingness to contribute to the local energy transition, notably by adopting the Pacte Électrique Breton in 2010. The Moulins du Lohan wind farm brings new green energy production capacity to a region that needs it. It took 17 months to build, thanks to close cooperation between local elected officials, government departments and RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator.
A site adapted to its environment
The wind farm has been developed taking into account local environmental and landscape sensitivities. The Forest of Lanouée, the forest site that hosts the wind farm, covers nearly 4,000 hectares. The wind farm occupies 0.3% of this area, or 11.4 hectares, which will be replanted with hardwood species covering an area of 12.25 hectares.
