Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd., a clean energy developer partly owned by Barclays Capital, is talking with other companies about building wind farms in France, said Andy Kinsella, who heads the company's offshore business division.
The European nation, which doesn't have any sea-based wind energy projects, is seeking bids for 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind farms as it strives to meet goals on cutting emissions and fostering renewable energy set by the European Union. The French government wants to produce 6,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2020.
Mainstream plans to bid for a project with at least 500 megawatts of capacity, Kinsella said in a phone interview today. "Our participation will depend on whether we can cooperate with what we believe will be a winning group of partners," he said, declining to identify the companies they are in discussions with.
There are five sites available under the first phase of France's program, Kinsella said. Tenders for the first 3,000 megawatts will be published "within weeks," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on May 31.
French energy producer GDF Suez (GSZ) SA, Areva SA, the world's largest builder of nuclear power plants, and Vinci SA (DG), Europe's biggest builder, have already agreed to bid together for a site. Paris-based EDF Energies Nouvelles SA (EEN) and Alstom SA (ALO), the world's third-largest power-equipment maker, signed an agreement on Jan. 19 to develop sea-based wind projects in preparation for the initiative.
U.S. Expansion
Mainstream plans to expand on the 7,600 megawatts of offshore wind energy projects it has under development in Europe by building wind farms in the U.S., Kinsella said. The company will learn at the end of August whether its qualified to bid in a New Jersey offshore wind program, he said.
The U.S. projects range from 350 megawatts to 3,000 megawatts, according to the New Jersey environmental protection department. Mainstream will aim to start construction on a wind farm in the state in 2016, Kinsella said.
