Schmidbauer will handle the heavy load logistics of three prototype floating wind turbines for EDF Renewables’ offshore wind farm near Marseille, France.
Siemens Gamesa will oversee the supply and maintenance of the three 8.4 MW wind turbines, while SBM Offshore will handle the design, manufacture and installation of the floating structures. The turbines will be installed 17 km off the coast of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône and connected to the public electricity transmission grid via a 19 km submarine cable and a 9 km underground cable by RTE.
Schmidbauer said that it has been working closely with Siemens Gamesa. Since December 2019, the company has been developing a concept for the installation of the turbines and the handling of the components at the harbour.
In the spring of 2022, Schmidbauer will provide the equipment for the harbour logistics, including LR 11350 crawler cranes, a CC 2400-1 crawler crane, 130-tonne capacity auxiliary cranes and 48 axles of SPMTs.
“The floating approach allows turbines to be installed in much deeper waters up to 800 m deep to catch the strongest and most consistent wind – and makes it almost invisible from the coast,” Schmidbauer said.
“The acquired knowledge of conventional wind turbines over the past 10 years gives the floating turbine an incredible boost as well as the mechanic principles that oil and gas industries have used for decades for their offshore sites.”
