EDF Renouvelables, EIH S.à.rl (owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP investments) and Skyborn announce the installation of the first wind turbine at the Fécamp offshore wind farm, 13 km offshore Normandy coasts. Launched in 2020, the project is taking a new major step.
After loading the masts, nacelles and blades of the first four wind turbines from the port of Cherbourg, DEME Offshore’s Innovation vessel proceeded with the installation of the components of the first wind turbine on the construction site of the Fécamp offshore wind farm. Under favorable weather conditions, the installation of a wind turbine takes about 24 hours. The 71 wind turbines with a capacity of 7 MW each will be gradually installed at sea at a distance varying between 13 and 24 km off Fécamp.
When it is commissioned, scheduled for the winter of 2023-2024, the Fécamp offshore wind farm with an installed capacity of nearly 500 MW will supply low-carbon electricity for the annual electricity consumption of 770,000 people, i.e. equivalent to 60% of the population of Seine-Maritime. This park will contribute to achieving the French objective of 40% electricity production from renewable sources by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.
In total, the three-year project will have mobilized 2,000 people in the Normandy region at peak times, including more than 1,200 on the gravity foundations site and up to 1,000 in the Siemens plant. Gamesa from Le Havre for the manufacture of blades and nacelles. The electrical substation, built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, will have mobilized more than 450 people in Saint-Nazaire.
Bertrand Allanic, Director of the Fécamp offshore wind farm for EDF Renewables , said on behalf of the consortium: “ After several years of mobilization by the EDF Renewables teams, our partners EIH S.à.rl, owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, and Skyborn, and territory, the park is now taking a symbolic step. It is a moment of strong emotion and pride for all those who contribute daily to the success of this project”.
