The successful launch of the first float of the Provence Grand Large offshore wind project marks a crucial step in the development of theFloating offshore wind power in France. EDF Renewables and Enbridge Éolien France 2 S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, successfully collaborated to complete this complex operation. The teams involved demonstrated their expertise and professionalism, allowing this major step to proceed smoothly.
Provence Grand Large: soon a world-class floating offshore wind farm
The float, measuring 45 meters high and 80 meters wide, was loaded onto a semi-submersible barge at the Eiffage Métal site and transported to the port of Marseille-Fos. After an immersion operation of the barge, the float was freed, towed and moored at the Graveleau wharf. This process will be repeated for the other two floats in the coming weeks.
The next step of the project will be to assemble the wind turbines on the floats. These operations will take place on the Gloria wharf, where the masts, nacelles and blades of the wind turbines are currently stored. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, responsible for the construction and installation of the wind turbines, will begin work in June.
The Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind farm, which began construction in 2020, has already passed several important milestones on the way to its scheduled commissioning in early 2024. The land connection work was carried out in the spring of 2022, between the RTE substation in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône and the junction chamber located at the level of the parking lot of the Napoleon beach in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône. The construction of the floats, carried out by SBM Offshore on the Eiffage Métal site in Fos-sur-Mer, has also just been completed.
The Provence Grand Large project is the first in the world to use an innovative “tensioned line” float system, developed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles. This technology, inspired by oil rigs, allows a great stability of the float and can be deployed in deep water areas. The three floating offshore wind turbines, installed 17 km off the coast, will each have a capacity of 8.4 MW and will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 45,000 inhabitants.
EDF Renewables and Enbridge strengthen their position with the Provence Grand Large project
The Provence Grand Large project was selected by the French government in 2016 and is supported by the European Union, the Future Investment Program operated by the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), the Southern Region, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and the local authorities of the Gulf of Fos. It will enable EDF Renewables and Enbridge Éolien France 2 S.à.r.l to strengthen their ambitions in the floating offshore wind market in France and internationally.
EDF Renewables is an international leader in renewable electricity generation, with 10.1 GW net (15.6 GW gross) of installed wind and solar capacity worldwide. In addition to onshore wind power and photovoltaics, the company is strongly positioned in offshore wind power and emerging technologies such as energy storage. EDF Renewables develops, builds and operates and maintains renewable energy projects. As a subsidiary of the EDF Group, it contributes to the achievement of the carbon neutrality objective in 2050 set by the French government.
The successful launch of the first float of the Provence Grand Large offshore wind project represents a crucial step for the development of floating offshore wind energy in France. The technology of “tensioned anchor line” floats opens the way to a more widespread use of offshore wind in areas of great depth. The Provence Grand Large project contributes to the energy transition and to the development of a competitive offshore wind industry, while preserving the environment and promoting the cohabitation of uses.
