France is getting what are touted as its tallest wind turbines so far as the country plays catch-up with European neighbours.
The six Senvion 3.0M122 3MW turbines will soar to a tip-height of 200-metres, about two-thirds the height of the Eiffel Tower, according to developer BayWa r.e., which says the taller machines will capture stronger and steadier winds in the Haute Vienne region.
The claim of a new height record is a rare example of upwards momentum for Senvion and the French wind industry alike.
Despite success in markets such as France, Germany-based Senvion is facing increasing financial troubles, and last month had to delay the publication of its 2018 results while new chief executive Yves Rannou searches for further ways to save costs.
The fact that France is only now getting turbines on a scale common in many other European nations, especially neighbouring Germany, shows how the country's labyrinthine permitting regime has held back adoption of the latest technology.
As it takes several years for developers to obtain permits, French projects usually come with older turbines.
Senvion, for example, already has 4MW-plus onshore machines on offer, which can be delivered with longer blades than the 61-metre ones supplied to the project in the Haute Vienne region.
France plans to expand its onshore wind tendering programme to 2GW per year. But the French onshore wind sector is warning the country’s government that it will find it impossible to achieve its potential unless permitting impasse that has paralysed many developments is broken.
