Paris, July 4, 2023 – EDF Renewables, EIH S.à.rl (owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP investments) and Skyborn announce the installation of the first wind turbine at the Fécamp offshore wind farm, 13 km off the Normandy coast. Launched in 2020, the project is reaching a new major milestone.
After loading the masts, nacelles and blades of the first four wind turbines from the port of Cherbourg, DEME Offshore's Innovation vessel proceeded with the installation of the components of the first wind turbine on the construction site of the Fécamp offshore wind farm. In favorable weather conditions, installing a wind turbine takes approximately 24 hours. The 71 wind turbines with a capacity of 7 MW each will be gradually installed at sea at a distance varying between 13 and 24 km off the coast of Fécamp.
When it is scheduled to be commissioned during the winter of 2023-2024, the Fécamp offshore wind farm with an installed capacity of nearly 500 MW will provide low-carbon electricity for the annual electricity consumption of 770,000 people, i.e. equivalent of 60% of the population of Seine-Maritime. This park will contribute to achieving the French objective of 40% for the production of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.
In total, the three-year project will have made it possible to mobilize 2,000 people in the Normandy region at peak activity, including more than 1,200 on the gravity foundations site and up to 1,000 in the Siemens factory. Gamesa from Le Havre for the manufacture of blades and nacelles. The electrical substation, built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, will have mobilized more than 450 people in Saint-Nazaire.
Bertrand Allanic, Director of the Fécamp offshore wind farm for EDF Renewables, declared on behalf of the consortium: “ After several years of mobilization by the EDF Renewables teams, our partners EIH S.à.rl, owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, and Skyborn, and the territory, the park is now reaching a symbolic milestone. It is a moment of great emotion and pride for all those who contribute on a daily basis to the success of this project.”