ABL has been selected by French transmission system operator RTE to provide marine warranty survey services for the grid connection of the 600MW Dunkirk offshore wind farm.
The A03 Dunkirk project will feature up to 46 turbines located more than 10 kilometres off the French coast in water depths of up to 30 metres.
ABL’s French operation will oversee the safe marine transportation and installation of the offshore substation and two 16-kilometre subsea export cables.
The company will carry out technical reviews and approvals of marine engineering documentation, conduct suitability surveys of the vessel fleet, and attend operations on site to certify and witness warranted activities.
Its scope covers the installation of the 2200-tonne four-leg jacket foundation and piles for the offshore substation, as well as the 3250-tonne topside.
Cable pull-in, laying and protection operations are also included in ABL’s brief.
Fabien Thomas, country manager for ABL in France, said: “The A03 Dunkirk offshore wind farm is projected to produce enough clean energy to power nearly one million households.
“We have a proud history of supporting the grid infrastructure development of France’s first offshore wind projects and in collaborating with RTE. We look forward to continuing that important work on Dunkirk.”
ABL’s Paris office will lead the project.
Operational in France since 2015, ABL has supported more than ten of the country’s offshore wind developments, including Saint-Nazaire, Fecamp and Saint-Brieuc.
The company is part of Oslo-listed global consultancy ABL Group ASA.