France’s Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) said on Tuesday it has started power supplies to state-owned railway group SNCF Voyageurs from a new wind farm being built in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
The 37.4-MW Rives Charentaises park has started feeding electricity into the grid from eight of its turbines earlier this month, with the remaining nine machines planned to be brought online gradually by the end of November. The plant’s output is contracted under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with SNCF Voyageurs signed in July.
Located in the departments of Charente and Vienne, Rives Charentaises is expected to generate around 78 GWh of electricity annually once fully commissioned. Its generation will cover 1.4% of SNCF Voyageurs' traction electricity consumption.
Voltalia started building the Rives Charentaises wind farm in October 2022. The company won a contract for 14 MW of the project's capacity in a domestic tender in 2021 while an additional 24 MW capacity is eligible for a 20-year regulated tariff.
