The first offshore wind farm in France has been running at full speed since Wednesday, off Saint-Nazaire, announced EDF, a few hours before the inauguration of this park whose full commissioning coincides with the expected appointment of the new boss of the energy company, Luc Rémont.
“EDF Renewables and EIH S.a.r.l. (…) are pleased to announce the full commissioning of the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm with an installed capacity of 480 MW”, EDF announced in a press release.
“Located between 12 and 20 kilometers from the coast, the 80 wind turbines of the park now produce the equivalent of 20% of the annual electricity consumption of the Loire-Atlantique region,” says EDF.
The inauguration in Saint-Nazaire should bring together all stakeholders: State, local authorities, companies, professional and environmental associations.
The maintenance of the park, which covers 78 km2 and is monitored remotely from a base located in the port of La Turballe, will be carried out by about 100 people during the 25 years of its operation.
Work on the connection of the park had begun in 2019, then the construction of the offshore park took place in 2021 and 2022, with first the installation of the foundations and electrical cables underwater, before the wind turbines were transported to the site, from spring 2022 until the installation of the last one on September 5.
“Since the production of its first megawatt-hours (MWh) in early June 2022, the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm has gradually connected its 80 wind turbines to the national electricity transmission grid,” which supply electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of 700,000 people.
This is the “first offshore wind farm in France of industrial size,” said Bruno Bensasson, chairman and CEO of EDF Renewables, who recalled EDF’s goal of “doubling its net renewable energy capacity worldwide to 60 GW by 2030″.
This announcement of EDF intervenes whereas the executive must name Wednesday in Council of Ministers the new CEO of EDF Luc Rémont, who will have the heavy task to relaunch the nuclear, but also the solar and the wind energy.
