Consortium with EDP Renewables is selected for floating wind farm pilot project in France

This verdict recognises the innovative technological decisions, experience and know-how of the consortium, whose goal is to make floating wind power a competitive alternative within the energy mix, together with local players who are already fully active in this field.

EDP Renewables, ENGIE, and Caisse des Dépôts, which are already participating in the offshore wind power projects at Tréport-Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier, have worked alongside leading industrial partners with extensive experience in large infrastructure projects and in the highly promising field of floating structure technology.

The pilot wind farm, which is located on the coast of Leucate – Le Barcarès and is France’s first offshore wind farm site, will be composed of four 150-6 MW/unit GE Haliade wind turbines mounted on semi-submersible floating structures designed by Principle Power in Aix-en-Provence and manufactured by Eiffage Métal in Fos-sur-Mer. Assembly, storage and logistics will be carried out in Port-la-Nouvelle, in the Department of Aude. The project will benefit companies in the Occitanie and Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur regions immensely (especially the diversification of the Fos-sur-Mer factory to include the production of offshore energy components).

After an initial study and negotiation phase, followed by their assembly, the wind farms will enter into production in 2020 and usher in the business activity phase of the French floating wind power consortium and its competitive position in terms of exports.

Thanks to its state-of-the-art technology, the advantage of floating wind power is that it can be installed in deep water far from the coast where high winds are prevalent. The French Mediterranean coast is especially propitious for producing this type of offshore renewable energy and is an ideal testing ground for future international projects.