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First French offshore wind farm readies for foundations

4C Offshore | Bridget Randall-Smith
By: Bridget Randall-Smith 23/04/2021 4COffshore
Foundation installation is set to get underway at the 480 MW Saint Nazaire offshore wind farm, located between 12 and 20 kilometres off the Loire-Atlantique coast.

This week saw another four foundations arrive at the port of La Rochelle. According to the project team 20 substructure have been delivered and are ready for offshore installation. DEME Group's
Innovation vessel, currently in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is due start foundation installation in a "few days".

Each substructure consists of a 12-15 metre-long monopile, with 7 metre diameter, weighing up to 950 tonnes, plus a 400-500 tonne transition piece. Smulders and Sif, on behalf of Effiage, are supplying the components.


Sea Installer is already on site and since 4th April has been installing the pin piles for the offshore substation jacket. Drilling works were completed in advance during late Summer/early Autumn 2020 by the Jack-up Barge Neptune. The substation topside is due to be installed this Autumn.

This week the first 40 nacelles have also been loaded out from GEs factory in Saint Nazaire and 18 wind turbine towers are expected to arrive in Saint Nazaire by end-April. The wind farm will feature 80 GE Haliade 160-6MW turbines due to be installed next year by
Vole Au Vent jack-up vessel.

The
Saint Nazaire wind farm, currently owned by EDF (50%), Enbridge (25.5%) and CPP (24.5%), is expected to be fully commissioned by the end of 2022. According to GE, each Haliade turbine powers 5,000 homes; the project is expected to generate the equivalent of 20% of the Loire-Atlantique’s electricity consumption.

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