Commissioning of the Extension Plaine d’Escrebieux wind farm

Photo: Boralex Inc.

Boralex Inc. announced the commercial commissioning of the Extension Plaine d’Escrebieux wind farm, located in the Pas-de-Calais department, in the Hauts-de-France region, in the communes of Courcelles-lès-Lens, Esquerchin and Fiers-en-Escrebieux.

The facility has an installed capacity of 13.8 MW. Its production capacity will service the energy needs of about 9,000 French households per year.

The extension, which was developed by Boralex, includes four Vestas V117 wind turbines in addition to the four that have been in service since 2014 belonging to another producer.

The development of the Extension Plaine d’Escrebieux wind farm project started in 2015. It was launched by Ecotera Developpement before it was aquired by Boralex, who built and continues to operate the extension. The addition of four wind turbines was designed and built consistent and in harmonious integration with the original wind farm and surrounding mining landscape.

“The project and its extension are driven by Boralex’s commitment to reduce the footprint of our activities on natural ecosystems and biodiversity by leveraging all possible measures. This commitment covers a given project’s entire life cycle, including development, construction, operation and decommissioning. Boralex and its teams work to help preserve local wildlife and their habitats throughout these cycles,” said Nicolas Wolff, Vice-President and General Manager, Boralex, Europe.

Biodiversity and species protection measures include the creation of an orchard, in collaboration with the Esquerchin commune, to create a biodiversity area accessible to riverside residents. Activities were also conducted with farmers to raise awareness on protecting hawk nests in the area. Throughout the wind farm’s operation, Boralex will continue to closely monitor the local environment.