Home Press release DUNKIRK: INAUGURATION OF AN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION BUILT « IN ADVANCE » OF THE FUTURE NEEDS OF THE INDUSTRIAL AND PORT AREA
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DUNKIRK: INAUGURATION OF AN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION BUILT “IN ADVANCE” OF THE FUTURE NEEDS OF THE INDUSTRIAL AND PORT AREA

On Friday, September 10, Enedis, RTE, Dunkerque-Port and the Metropolitan Authority of Dunkerque inaugurated an electrical substation in the port of Dunkerque. For the first time in France, a substation has been built in advance of the electricity needs of future manufacturers wishing to set up in a development area. This means new businesses will have faster access to the network, promoting the attractiveness of the industrial and port area, and thus the economic development of the entire region surrounding Dunkerque.

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Co-financed by Enedis (operator of the public electricity distribution network), RTE (operator of the electricity transmission network), Dunkerque-Port and the Metropolitan Authority of Dunkerque, the construction of this new substation was decided in 2019 in advance of the increased demand for electricity and to secure the power supply for the industrial port area of Dunkerque. Connected to the very high voltage network of RTE and operated by Enedis, the substation, installed on 1.4 hectares, serves to drop the electrical voltage from 225,000 V to 20,000 V in order to provide power for future manufacturers. In all, 12.5 million euros have been invested to provide 40 MW of  initial additional power to the entire region surrounding Dunkerque-Port. The substation will eventually be able to supply 110 MW of power to meet the needs of industrialists. Dunkerque-Port is already in talks with several industrialists attracted by the ease of connection for their electricity needs.

A substation built “in advance” in record time: an innovative approach

This construction in advance, i.e. before knowing the precise needs of future industrial customers, is a completely new, innovative approach. It allows future manufacturers to set up faster, meeting an industrial challenge that will be of use to the whole of the region. After only one year of construction, compared with the three usually required, the “Major SeaPort” substation powered up on 30 June 2021.

The “advance” electrical substation for Dunkerque is an unprecedented industrial tool that meets Dunkerque-Port’s aims in terms of economic development. Enedis, as a public service for ecological transition, supports the stakeholders and industrialists of the surrounding area and helps strengthen the competitiveness of the Major SeaPort on the international markets.
Marianne Laigneau
Chair of the Enedis Executive Board
Against a proactive background of reindustrialisation and decarbonization, the inauguration of this new substation is a further asset for the efficiency of the power grid and the attractiveness of the industrial port area. RTE has been working for a long time alongside the Dunkerque regional authorities and industrial players in order to help them set up and enable major changes to their processes.
Xavier Piechaczyk
Chair of the RTE Executive Board
All the projects for setting-up operations that Dunkerque-Port is examining today have very significant electricity needs. This new source substation, the result of the partnership between Enedis, RTE, the Dunkerque Metropolitan Authority and Dunkerque-Port, undoubtedly reinforces the economic attractiveness of our whole region.
Emmanuelle VERGER
Chair of the Supervisory Board of Dunkerque-Port
The installation of this facility is fully in line with our strategy of attracting and industrializing the Dunkerque conurbation. In an economic context where competitive advantage is increasingly measured by the ability of regions to anticipate, innovate and offer turnkey services to businesses, the creation of an electrical substation of this scale testifies to the collective ambition that we back to make Dunkerque a leading industrial-port eco-system on the international scene.
Patrice Vergriete
President of the Dunkerque Metropolitan Authority