Bourbon has completed the first stage of the 30MW EolMed floating wind pilot off the coast of southern France.
The project’s Floating Electrical Hub (FEH) infrastructure has now been installed off Port la-Nouvelle, Gruissan, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The pilot will comprise three floating turbines with the aim of entering operation in 2025.
As part of the project, the FEH connects the hardware with the export cable.
This first major step of the pilot, which took over a year to prepare, mobilised about 30 Bourbon experts (engineering, project management and offshore teams) covering the design, manufacture, towing and installation of the FEH and its subsea mooring system.
Towing and installation took place over a period of two months and involved the use of an Anchor Handling Tug Supply, the Bourbon Liberty 222, equipped with remotely operated vehicles.
The Eolmed project, led by the renewable energy company Qair, is one of the first floating wind farm projects in the Mediterranean.
Bourbon Subsea Services chief executive Stephan Midenet said: “The project also demonstrates our ability to provide our energy clients with turnkey services mobilising all the skills and assets of the group in EPCI mode, from the engineering phase to offshore installation.
“We are now focused on preparing the second stage of this project in which Bourbon will install the three wind turbines and connect them to the electricity grid in 2025.”