Wealth & Finance International - Business Awards 2015

www.wealthandfinance-intl.com 17 Best in Renewable Energy 2015 - France EDP Renewables is a Spain based international firm specialising in developing innovative new solutions for the produc- tion of renewable energy. Frédéric Lanoë offers us an insight into the work they do and their impressive position within this competitive and growing market. Company: EDPR France Web Address: www.edpr.com EDP Renewables, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, is a global leader in the renewable energy sector and the world’s fourth-largest wind energy producer. With a sound development pipeline, first class assets and market-leading operating capacity, EDPR has undergone exceptional development in recent years and is currently present in 12 markets (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the US, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the UK, Romania and Mexico). EDPR France, our main subsidiary, currently supplies 340MW via 170 wind turbines located throughout France, making it is among the largest operators in the market. EDPR also holds a 43% stake in a consortium with Engie (formerly GDF Suez), which holds 47%, and Neoen Marine, which holds 10%, to develop and built a 500MW off-shore wind farm at Dieppe and Tréport and another off the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier. It is activities such as this, alongside our intensive work operating a number of wind farms, which puts EDPR is at the forefront of wind farm operation. In fact, the load factor of our facilities is one of the most stable and significant in our sector. As an operator of wind farms, we have numerous responsibilities. We need to make sure we produce electricity of the best possible quality and as seamlessly as possible. We also need to engineer projects that are a benefit to the local communities, while respecting the local environment. To achieve this, we are mindful of the following three elements: “walk the talk” since it builds trust, which is a must for long-term projects like ours, “value all employees at all levels” since it is the team that makes the difference and “have a genuine approach to continuous improvement”. In addition to our work with wind farms we are also closely studying the floating wind power tender launched by the French Government as the company is among the pioneers of this technology worldwide. In order to stay ahead in this rapidly expanding business envi- ronment, we ensure that we are our internal pricing and markets department and new business development teams are continuously scanning for opportunities worldwide. In France, given my current position as President of the French Wind Power Association (France Energie Eolienne), I am in a privileged position to be able to promote the benefits of shifting to renewables. All of these factors have given us unique insight into our market. In the renewable energy arena, we are observing some key trends that are crucial to take into account. The first of these is the enormous growth of the installed power capacity in emerging countries. Wind power and solar energy have become competitive thanks to the support scheme implemented among OECD countries. This is now translating into benefits for many countries which recognise the ease and effectiveness of renewable solutions. Additionally, we have observed that there is a certain degree of con- fusion in Europe as many countries have used the pretext of the eco- nomic crisis to cut back renewable energy compensation schemes. We do not believe, for example, that it is positive to cut back on wind power, a sector led by high-growth companies in Europe, while con- tinuing to subsidize massively polluting energy sources. Our firm has a commitment to the development of off-shore wind energy has made us a reference company in the sector on a global level, and we are keen to build on this going forward, partnering with other firms to investigate new means of providing this. EDPR France