BCTG Avocats acted as counsel in connection with the financing of an offshore wind farm off the coast of Fécamp, which will have installed capacity of 497 MW (71 SGRE 7 MW turbines).

The future Fécamp offshore wind farm will produce the equivalent of the domestic power consumption of over 770,000 people, i.e. more than 60% of the population of the department of Seine-Maritime. It will make a significant contribution to the French government’s goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s power consumption to 33% by 2030, as well as establishing an industry based in France.

EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge, together with WPD, are also in charge of the Courseulles-sur-Mer offshore wind project; in addition, EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge are the joint concession holders of the Saint-Nazaire project. These two projects, like the Fécamp project, were awarded in 2012, at the conclusion of the first call for bids organised by the French government.

Of all the calls for bids launched, Fécamp is the second offshore wind project in France to be financed, after the Saint-Nazaire project in September 2019. It is also the largest project financed during the health emergency.

BCTG Avocats advised the project company and Éolien Maritime France, the consortium formed by EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge, on this transaction. Paul Elfassi, a partner in the Energy department and Aurélie Surteauville, associates, advised on energy and environmental law aspects.

The consortium was also advised by Clifford Chance, including a team composed of Daniel Zerbib, a partner, and Nina Yoshida and Sophie Laporte, associates, for financing aspects, Gauthier Martin, a partner, and Daphné Celet, Clémence Graffan and Elise Mayer, associates, for public law, energy law and State aid law aspects, Fabien Jacquemard, a counsel, and Sophie Weiss, an associate, for derivative-related issues, Charles-Henri Boeringer, a partner, and Sophie Lévy and Sorin Toma, associates, for regulatory aspects, Laurent Schoenstein, a partner, Xavier Petet, a counsel, and Katerina Drakoularakou and Grégoire Lecoquierre, associates, for corporate aspects, and Dessislava Savova, a partner, Anne-Sophie Plé, Olivier Gaillard and Alexander Kennedy, counsels, and Jérémy Guilbault and Alexandre Manasterski, associates, for manufacturing and construction contract aspects.

Enbridge was advised by the Jeantet law firm. Karl Hepp de Sevelinges, a partner, Michael Samol, a counsel, and Ruben Koslar and Nicolas Martin, associates, advised on corporate issues and manufacturing contracts, with the assistance of Adrien Fourmon, a counsel, on public law aspects. Jean-François Adelle, a partner, and Thibault Mercier, an associate, advised Enbridge and its subsidiary EIH on setting up the financing.

The financial parties and the EIB were advised by teams from Linklaters LLP, headed by François April, a partner, and composed of Samuel Bordeleau, a counsel, Etienne Paletto, Alexander Leadill, Salimatou Kaba and Enzo Beule, associates, for project finance, energy law, manufacturing and construction contracts aspects, Pierre Guillot, a partner, and Sandra Hoballah Campus, an associate, for public law aspects, Pierre Zelenko, a partner, and Nicolas Zacharie, a counsel, for State aid law aspects, Aurore Imbabazi, an associate, for derivative-related aspects, and Thomas Schulz, a partner, and Josepha Mallwitz and Laura Pfälzner, associates, for German law aspects.The Linklaters team who worked on aspects specific to the European Investment Bank was led by Bertrand Andriani, a partner, and included Justin Faye, a counsel, and Romain Marchand, an associate.