A subsidiary of French renewable energy developer EDF Energies Nouvelles, EDF EN Canada owns a stake of 50% in the wind facility, located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region.
Other stakeholders of the wind farm are Régie intermunicipale de l’énergie du Bas-Saint-Laurent (RIEBSL) which owns 33% and Régie intermunicipale de l'énergie Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine (RIEGÎM) which holds a stake of 17%.
RIEBSL president Michel Lagacé said: “Pride is the word that sums up the last nine years of the local authority’s commitment to build Canada’s largest equally owned community project. Nicolas-Riou represents a great public-private achievement resulted from the addition of the partners’ skills.”
The Nicolas-Riou wind project features 65 V117-3.45 MW turbines from Vestas with each having a capacity of 3.45MW. Vestas, which was given the turbine supply in mid-2016, had also signed a 10-year Active Output Management (AOM 5000) service agreement.
Construction of the wind project began in June 2016 and had involved more than 400 workers during its peak stage.
EDF EN Canada development vice president Cory Basil said: “The Nicolas-Riou Wind Project mobilized all regional county municipalities (RCM) in Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, as well as the Maliseet of Viger First Nation, who invested together with their respective municipalities and EDF EN Canada for the capital expenditures.”
Nicolas-Riou is one of the eight wind projects won by EDF EN Canada from Hydro-Québec Distribution's call for tenders in 2008, 2010 and 2013.
EDF EN Canada has commissioned 1,600MW of wind and solar projects across Canada since 2008.
Image: 224MW Nicolas-Riou fully operational. Photo: courtesy of Business Wire.
