To be developed over 11km from Yeu island and 16km from Noirmoutier island in France, the €2bn offshore wind farm, which will feature 62 turbines, is expected to produce 1,900GWh of clean energy per year to serve nearly 800,000 people
DEME has been awarded two transport and installation contracts for the Yeu-Noirmoutier offshore wind farm. (Credit: DEME)
DEME has secured two transport and installation contracts worth more than €300m for the foundations and the offshore substation for the 496MW Yeu-Noirmoutier offshore wind farm to be located offshore France.
The contract has been awarded by Éoliennes en Mer des Îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN), a consortium made up of Ocean Winds, Sumitomo, La Banque des Territoires, and Vendée Energie.
Ocean Winds is a 50-50 joint venture between Spanish renewable energy company EDP Renewables and French utility ENGIE.
Under the contract, DEME Offshore will carry out the pre-piling works for the offshore substation jacket as well as the transportation and installation of the 2,700-tonne topside.
Besides, the company’s scope of work includes the transportation and installation of monopile foundations and transition pieces.
To be developed over 11km from Yeu island and 16km from Noirmoutier island, the €2bn offshore wind farm is expected to produce 1,900GWh of clean energy per year.
It will feature 62 wind turbines with each having a capacity of 8MW. The turbines will be manufactured by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
According to DEME, the installation of the monopile foundations will require its advanced drilling technology and will involve the reuse of certain equipment, methods, and tools which were earlier used at Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.
DEME Offshore South Europe business unit director Yves Chiffoleau said: “We are absolutely delighted to be awarded a second major offshore wind project in France. Saint-Nazaire was an extraordinary project and a challenging one.
“Many thought it was impossible to drill an entire wind farm into rock, but our expert project team successfully accomplished the project ahead of schedule.
“We will again deploy our cutting-edge technology and the innovative methodologies developed by our fantastic engineers at Yeu and Noirmoutier.”
The installation of topside, substation jacket, and monopile foundations is expected to begin in the first half of 2024.
The Yeu-Noirmoutier offshore wind farm is anticipated to commence operations in 2025.
EMYN president Paolo Cairo said: “This contract signature for the transport and installation of the monopile foundations and substation is an important step towards the EMYN’s construction phase ensuring a proven technology for a challenging installation in safe conditions.
“As from 2025 the Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm will produce clean energy for almost 800,000 people – more than the current population of the Vendée department- helping to diversify the energy mix and to continue the quest for carbon neutrality.”