Boralex Targets 1,000-MW Capacity in France by 2020

Boralex (TSX:BLX) has commissioned the Sources de l’Ancre wind farm with 23 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, the company revealed on Wednesday (January 30).

The company said that the farm, located in the Somme department of France will have the ability to meet the average power needs of nearly 20,000 households — or about 9,000 people — at full capacity.

Additionally, Boralex said that it has entered into a power purchasing agreement for 15-years with Electricité de France effective January 1, 2019.

With the commissioning of the wind farm, the company’s capacity has increased to 921 MW in France and 1,942 MW globally.

“In the short term, we’re getting closer to our target of 1,000 MW in France by 2020,” Patrick Decostre, general manager of Boralex, said in the release. “In the long run, our growth deepens our commitments to our community partners. By leveraging the combined efforts of all our teams, we can focus on the future and promoting the responsible and reasonable growth we want to achieve.”

The wind farm consists of seven turbines that are manufactured by Vestas Wind System (CPH:VWS), with each turbine contributing 3.3 MW.

Crucially, it was noted that the wind farm is expected to generate 4.2 million euros (C$6.4 million) to the annualised EBITDA of Boralex.

Further, the company confirmed that it has commissioned its 10 MW Le Pelon wind farm on January 1, 2019. The Le Pelon wind farm is located in the Deux-Sevres department of France, which Boralex disclosed it had commissioned in a release in December. The five wind turbines at the Le Pelon wind farm are manufactured by Vestas and generate 2 MW each.

In addition to the Le Pelon wind farm, the company said that it is commissioning three other wind farms in France, with a total capacity of 66 MW between all four. These farms include Noyers Bucamps with a capacity of 10 MW, Hauts de Comble with a capacity of 20 MW and the Coteaux du Blaiseron wind farm totaling 26 MW.

Moving ahead, the company is scheduled to open two other wind farms in the first half of 2019, including the Basse Thierache Nord with a capacity of 20 MW and the Catesis wind farm with a capacity of 10 MW.

The news from Boralex comes at a time when the International Energy Agency said in its forecast report that wind energy is set to become the European Union’s (EU) largest power source in the late 2020s.

According to the report, wind is supposedly set to overtake coal energy, nuclear and gas with close to 40 percent share in terms of gross capacity in the EU. Globally, wind is set to make up 14 percent of total capacity of electricity generation with around 1,700 GW.

Following the announcement, shares of Boralex were up 0.27 percent and closed the trading session on Wednesday at C$18.75. The stock settled to trade at C$18.70 as of 1.28 p.m., EST on Thursday (January 31).

Boralex has a “Buy” ranking on TradingView with 14 verticals in favor, eight in neutral and six against. The stock has a “Strong Buy” ranking on TipRanks with an analyst target price of C$23.50 representing a 23.50 percent upside from its current price.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bala Yogesh, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.