DEME Offshore and Eiffage Metal have completed the installation of 80 foundations at the 480MW Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, off France.
“Industry-first” technology has been deployed to install the foundations in solid rock and to enhance operational working time.
Installation of the foundations started in spring 2021.
DEME Offshore and its partner Herrenknecht jointly designed a 350-tonne Offshore Foundation Drill (OFD) to perform the drilling work for the project’s XL monopiles.
Other unique equipment deployed at Saint-Nazaire is the MODIGA, designed to encapsulate the drilling and installation operations, protecting them from the adverse Atlantic marine conditions, which in turn enhances operational working time.
The complete technological solution has been deployed from the offshore installation vessel “Innovation”.
DEME Offshore and Eiffage Metal have involved more than 200 companies from Pays de Loire and France in the project, mainly small and medium enterprises, creating job opportunities and contributing to the development of the blue economy in France.
Bart De Poorter, general manager at DEME Offshore, said: “Deploying this world’s first equipment enabled us to complete the installation well ahead of schedule.
“Installation operations continued through the winter season, despite the combination of severe weather conditions and the harsh Atlantic Ocean environment.
“At Saint-Nazaire, our teams and crew have not only gained substantial experience for the next offshore wind farm projects at the French coast, but also to successfully carry out installation works in similar challenging conditions across the globe.”
Eiffage Metal, through its subsidiary Smulders, has wind farm project references off the coasts of Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, adding France to its track record with Saint-Nazaire.