The Diplomat
Iberdrola has completed the first phase of construction of the offshore wind farm in Saint-Brieuc (France) after installing 65% of the piles and 40% of the platforms that the plant will have, thus complying with the plans, the company said in a statement.
The construction elements already installed at the wind farm in the French region of Brittany have been manufactured in Spain, specifically at Windar’s plants in Avilés (Asturias) and at Navantia’s facilities in the municipality of Fene in A Coruña, according to Europa Press.
The work carried out so far includes the installation of 124 piles with which 40 of the 62 wind turbines that the wind farm will have, as well as a substation, will be anchored to the seabed.
The platforms will be placed on top of these wind turbines, elements that have a “very low” impact on the environment because they “facilitate the circulation of the water masses and biodiversity, while promoting the artificial reef effect”. Twenty-four platforms have already been installed in the Saint-Brieuc park.
During the month of January, the cabling of the wind turbines is expected to continue, weather permitting, so that work on the interconnection cable for the wind farm can begin in the middle of the month. This will provide a service of 90 kilometres of high-voltage interconnection cables reaching 66 kilovolts (kV).
The construction of the Saint-Brieuc wind farm, valued at 2.5 billion euros, is the largest offshore wind energy project ever undertaken by Navantia and Windar. The project has generated more than 1,250 jobs in the towns of Avilés and Fene and has facilitated the opening of the Brest plant, where the two companies also manufacture parts for the installation in Brittany.
Iberdrola has awarded the Navantia-Windar partnership contracts worth a total of more than 1 billion euros, helping Navantia to become “a global benchmark in the construction of offshore wind components” and the leading producer in France. Iberdrola thus reflects its commitment to positioning Spanish industry as “an international benchmark in green projects”.
Saint-Brieuc is the Spanish energy company’s fourth offshore wind farm, the first in France. Once operational in 2023, it is expected to generate enough renewable energy to supply the electricity consumption of more than 835,000 people.
The French facility is being built 16 kilometres from the coast and will cover an area of 75 square kilometres. It joins Iberdrola’s other three offshore wind farms in Europe: West of Duddon Sands, in the Irish Sea; Wikinger, in the Baltic Sea; and East Anglia ONE, in the North Sea.
