Iberdrola has inaugurated the 496MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm off France.
With an investment of €2.4bn, the project began development in 2012 and entered full operation in 2024, following three years of construction.
It consists of 62 turbines, each with a capacity of 8MW, the most powerful installed in France to date.
The construction work supported more than 1700 jobs, 500 locally, and involved a range of companies, such as Siemens-Gamesa (turbines), the Navantia Windar consortium (foundations and transition pieces), Haizea (towers), Prysmian (cabling) and Van Oord (installation).
In total, more than 150 European companies worked on the scheme.
Executive chairman of Iberdrola Ignacio Galan (pictured in Saint-Brieuc) said: “This project lays the foundations for the offshore wind sector in France and clearly demonstrates the potential that this technology has to boost energy security and the reindustrialisation of Europe, while contributing to climate objectives, in line with the Draghi report.”
The turbines were manufactured by Siemens-Gamesa at a new facility in Le Havre and the components of the jacket foundations were partly built and assembled by Navantia Windar in the Port of Brest.
Iberdrola’s project team and suppliers overcame a range of challenges to deliver the project on schedule, including adverse weather and challenging sea conditions.
Innovative new techniques and equipment for fixing the turbine’s foundations to the seabed were developed, overcoming the challenges posed by hard rock formations in the seabed (composed of basalt rock).
Years of planning was involved in ensuring hundreds of companies across the supply chain delivered components and equipment to specification and on schedule, all supported by expert teams leading on thousands of environmental protection measures and delivering against a wide range of social requirements.