REpower Systems AG passed the 1GW milestone of wind energy systems installed in France. “One GW roughly corresponds to the output from one to two conventional electric power plants,” says Olivier Perot, Managing Director of Repower S.A.S. The manufacturer has installed about 500 turbines across the country since 2002. This corresponds to 20% of France’s existing wind-energy capacity. Alongside its activities in the sale, installation, and maintenance of onshore turbines, REpower expects to participate in offshore wind energy. France announced the start of the round of tenders for autumn 2010.
With a market share of more than 20% last year, the company was the second largest manufacturer of wind turbines in the French market. The company was established in 2002 as Les Vents de France, a joint venture between the German REpower Systems AG and the Belgian Turbowinds S.A. The first wind energy system, a 1.5-MW MD77 turbine, was erected the same year in the Champagne-Ardennes region. Since 2003, the company, renamed REpower S.A.S., belongs entirely to the REpower Group and now employs about 150 people.
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