The future offshore wind farm on the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier has obtained its final investment decision, allowing to launch this summer the first phases of its construction, announced Thursday its developers, Engie and EDP Renewables.
Located 11 km off the coast of Yeu and 16 km from Noirmoutier, the wind farm is expected to come on stream in the second half of 2025, according to Ocean Winds, the 50/50 joint venture between the two energy companies dedicated to offshore wind energy. This will be the fifth offshore wind farm commissioned in France.
With a capacity of approximately 500 megawatts (MW), it will supply nearly 800,000 people with electricity each year, the equivalent of the population of Vendée. The project represents an investment of approximately 2.5 billion euros. Ocean Winds has announced the final investment decision with Sumitomo Corporation, Banque des Territoires and Vendée Energie, shareholders of Eoliennes en Mer des îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN).
The first offshore operations will therefore take place this summer, before the actual start of installation work in 2024 and 2025. The wind turbines, produced by Siemens Gamesa in Le Havre, will be installed during 2025. The construction of the park will generate 1,600 direct jobs in France, according to its builders. The consortium had won in 2014 the tender launched by the state the previous year. Administrative approvals were obtained in 2018.
France, which began awarding the first offshore wind projects in 2011, has only one commercial wind farm in operation to date, off Saint-Nazaire, since late 2022. Seven others are in the pipeline, at various stages of development, often held up by procedures and appeals. The country has a target of 40 GW (about 50 parks) by 2050. To this end, a planning process is planned, starting with the holding of four public debates this year, one for each coastline.
“We are delighted that EMYN, a flagship project of the Engie group, is now entering the construction phase,” Paulo Almirante, deputy CEO of Engie Renewables, Energy Management and Nuclear, commented on Thursday, assuring that his group is “strongly committed to supporting France’s energy transition through responsibly led projects.”
Ocean Winds has two other sites in France, the Dieppe-Le Tréport commercial wind farm, currently under construction, and the floating pilot wind farm in the Gulf of Lion. The consortium has a total of 15 projects in seven countries, including 8 GW won in Scotland and the US in 2022.
