EDF, Alstom win in offshore push

A consortium led by French firms EDF and Alstom won three out of five tenders to build off-shore wind farms with Areva and Spain's Iberdrola winning another, the French industry minister said on Friday. The EDF-led consortium, which also includes Danish company Dong Energy Power, won rights to develop wind farms at Fecamp and Courseulles-sur-Mer on France's northern coast and in Saint-Nazaire to the west. The Iberdrola and Areva bid is also located in northern France. Gas giant GDF Suez was a big loser in the tender, having lost all four of its bids. Minister Eric Besson said the tender would generate 7 billion euros ($9.2 billion) in investment and create 10,000 jobs. A fifth site was not allocated as the only bid, by GDF Suez, was too expensive for the amount of electricity expected to be generated. In total, the four zones attributed for development will generate 2,000 megawatts of power, less than the 3,000 megawatts initially planned. But a new government tender for more sites, expected later this year, will bring the power generated to 6,000 megawatts, the government said.