The first turbine has been installed at the 500 MW Fécamp wind farm, located off Normandy in northern France. The country also awarded almost 1.2 GW of wind projects in an oversubscribed tendering round.
The first turbine being installed at the Fécamp project. Credit: Parc éolien en mer de Fécamp – CAPA – C.Beyssier
The Fécamp floating offshore wind energy project, developed by Eolien Maritime France (EMF), a joint venture between the French company EDF Renouvelables, EIH and Skyborn, will comprise 71 turbines rated 7 MW each.
The project has engaged various heavy transport specialists. Last year, Sarens was involved in the lifting and loading out 71 gravity-based structures, weighing approximately 4,800 tonnes each, in the port of Le Havre. Boskalis deployed its ocean-going tugs Bear, Manta and Sovereign to tow the gravity-based structures. DEME’s Orion, fitted with Liebherr’s HLC 295000 crane was tasked with setting down the jacket foundations. The project is slated for completion in late 2023 or early 2024.
Meanwhile, the French energy regulatory commission (CRE) has selected 73 onshore wind energy projects, totalling 1,156 MW, for development under the its PPE2 tendering round (fourth stage). According to Enerdata, a research company that specialises in the analysis and forecasting of energy and climate issues, the state agency received 120 bids totaling 1.8 GW.
