An independent player in the production of renewable energy, created thirty years ago in Bègles (Gironde), the Valorem group has just signed a contract with SNCF Énergie for the supply of electricity from wind power which will run for twenty-five years . Developed both in France and internationally, Valorem will supply 93 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year to the SNCF Voyageurs subsidiary, thanks to the construction of a wind farm in Cheniers, in Marne. Its commissioning is planned for the fall. It will include eight Vestas wind turbines, with a unit capacity of 4.5 megawatts (MW).
According to Valorem and SNCF Énergie, this over-the-counter contract is the largest in France for wind-generated electricity. The volume supplied is equivalent to the needs of the Paris-Rennes TGV link. For Valorem, Cheniers is “an exemplary project”. Extension of a park operated by the group since 2016, it was authorized in 2021 and has not been the subject of appeal, “a sign of the quality of its development and its local acceptance”, indicates the Gironde company. . The signing of this contract also came at the right time to better promote the project, in a context of rising construction costs and lower profitability, explains Bertrand Guidez, deputy general manager of Valorem.
Carbon-free electricity
For SNCF Voyageurs, this signature is “the guarantee of the supply of carbon-free electricity and proof of its environmental commitment”, commented Richard Fécamp, the general director of SNCF Énergie. He also mentioned the “environmental expectations increasingly expressed by the regions, transport organizing authorities”.
