Boralex, France’s largest independent producer of onshore wind power, today announced the commissioning of three wind farms for a total capacity of 53 MW. Boralex has an operating capacity of 1.1 GW in France and 2.5 GW worldwide.

The wind farms are located in the commune of Louville-la-Chenard, in the Eure-et-Loir department of the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. These commissionings relate to the repowering of two existing wind farms with six wind turbines each and the construction of an extension with seven turbines. The three projects were executed simultaneously and overseen by Boralex’s teams. Together, they will produce approximately 138 GWh per year, sufficient to meet the energy needs of some 60,000 French households.

Repowering of the Remise de Réclainville wind farm: 

• Commissioning date: May 9, 2022
• Wind turbines: 6 Nordex N117 (2.4 MW rated power each, 150 m blade tip height)
• Total capacity after repowering: 14 MW (capacity before repowering: 12 MW)

Repowering of the Evits et Josaphat wind farm: 

• Commissioning date: June 24, 2022
• Wind turbines: 6 Nordex N117
• Total capacity after repowering: 14 MW (capacity before repowering: 12 MW)

Bois des Fontaines wind farm: 

• Commissioning date: May 12, 2022
• Wind turbines: 7 Nordex N117
• Total capacity: 25 MW

“As an owner-operator of renewable energy production sites, Boralex aims for optimal management of the life cycle of its sites. Wind farm repowering is an integral part of our strategy. To date, we have repowered and upgraded every one of our sites that has reached the end of its service life. Repowering is also advantageous for the host communities, as it ensures both the sustainability of the commitments made on initial commissionings as well as the local production of cost-competitive green energy,” said Nicolas Wolff, Vice President and General Manager of Boralex, Europe.

Prioritizing the circular economy 

The dismantling plan for the repowering of the Remise de Réclainville and Evits et Josaphat wind farms maximized the reuse of raw materials and recycling of existing materials, in line with the principles of circular economy. Thus, for each turbine dismantled, 300 m³ of concrete and 40 metric tons of steel were collected and sent to the appropriate recycling channels. The wind turbines themselves will be sold on the second-hand market and given a second life.

Respecting and protecting biodiversity

Starting at the design phase of our projects, we are extremely vigilant about applying regulatory procedures and adhering to the “avoid-reduce-compensate” principle in order to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment. The construction site of the wind project in the commune of Louville-la-Chenard has been checked regularly by an ecologist since project work began in July 2021. Biodiversity protection measures also include 300 linear metres of hedges composed of native trees and shrubs, planted in January 2022 to create habitats of interest for local wildlife species.