Offshore staff
PARIS – EDF Renewables, Enbridge Inc., and wpd have launched the Fécamp offshore wind farm following the finalization of financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners.
Located between 13 and 22 km (8 and 14 mi) off the coast of northwest France, the 500-MW Fécamp offshore wind farm will consist of 71 turbines connected to the gravity-based foundations installed on the seabed at depths between 25 and 30 m (82 and 98 ft). Project commissioning is scheduled in 2023.
The wind farm is expected to provide enough annual electricity to meet the power needs for 770,000 people, or more than 60% of the Seine-Maritime department’s population.
The construction of the project will create more than 1,400 local jobs, according to the consortium. During its 25-year service life, about 100 local ongoing full-time jobs based at the port of Fécamp will also be created to maintain the wind farm.
The total project capital cost is estimated to be EUR2 billion ($2 billion), of which the majority will be financed through non-recourse project level debt. Fécamp is underpinned by a 20-year power purchase agreement granted by the state in June 2018.
The consortium has signed equipment supply contracts with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Bouygues Construction, plus Saipem and Boskalis; and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, plus GE’s Grid Solutions and SDI.
SGRE will manufacture 71 SWT-7.0-154 wind turbines at the plant it is to build in Le Havre.
Bouygues, as the leader of the consortium, and Saipem are tasked with the design, construction, and installation on the seabed of the 71 gravity-based foundations with an individual weight of up to 5,000 metric tons (5,512 tons). Boskalis is tasked with the design and preparation of the seabed rock foundation prior to GBS installation, and the scour protection and ballasting of the GBS’ after installation on the seabed.
The foundations will be constructed in the Bougainville maritime works yard in the Grand Port Maritime of Le Havre and will be transported by barge to the offshore wind farm site. The works, which will start in the next few days, are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Atlantique Offshore Energy (the marine energy business unit of Chantiers de l’Atlantique) will design, manufacture, and commission the substation topsides and jacket foundation. GE’s Grid Solutions will deliver high-voltage equipment and protection control systems. SDI will transport and install the platform.
RTE, responsible for connecting the wind farm from the substation to the coast and then to Normandy’s electricity grid, will start its onshore work in June.
06/02/2020
