The Fécamp offshore wind farm, located in Normandy, France, with a capacity of 500 MW, has commenced electricity production and integration into the power grid. This achievement follows the installation of the first wind turbine at the start of this month. DEME Offshore’s vessel, Innovation, undertook the installation of the initial Siemens 7 MW wind turbine components. Work was done at the construction site situated between 13 and 24 kilometres off the Normandy coastline.
After undergoing a series of tests and trials, the wind turbine successfully transmitted its first kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity into the national grid via the Sainneville substation over the past weekend. The Fécamp offshore wind farm encompasses a total of 71 Siemens Gamesa 7 MW wind turbines. The turbines have been installed on gravity-based foundations.
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Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm to be Fully Complete by the End of 2023
By the conclusion of this year, the wind farm is expected to enter full operation. Thus, it will be capable of generating electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of 770,000 individuals. This is approximately 60% of the population residing in Seine-Maritime. The project is a collaborative effort involving Eolien Maritime France (EMF), a joint venture comprising EDF Renouvelables, EIH S.à.rl (owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments), and Skyborn Renewables (previously known as wpd offshore).
Prysmian, a supplier of submarine power cable links, played a crucial role in connecting the offshore wind farm to the mainland power grid. Their responsibilities encompassed the design, supply, installation, and testing. They also commissioned two high-voltage (HV) export power cable links.
Eiffage undertook the construction of the wind farm’s demonstrator foundation. Also, MT Højgaard was responsible for the installation of the foundation. Furthermore, the Smulders group took charge of constructing the metal mast. Fécamp is France’s third large-scale offshore wind project to progress to the turbine installation phase. This is following the already inaugurated Saint-Nazaire and the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm.
