Paris, November 19, 2020 – The Fécamp offshore wind farm reaches a new milestone in its realization with the start of the construction of its future maintenance base, in Fécamp. The building will be used by wind farm construction teams in 2022 and thereafter will welcome operation and maintenance teams from 2023.
Supported by EDF Renewables, Enbridge and wpd Offshore, the Fécamp offshore wind farm, with a capacity of nearly 500 MW, will be made up of 71 wind turbines located more than 13 km from the coast. When it comes into service at the end of 2023, it will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 770,000 people, or 60% of the inhabitants of Seine-Maritime.
With numerous installation operations planned off the coast of Fécamp from 2022, the maintenance base will initially serve as a “construction base”. From commissioning and throughout the lifespan of the park of approximately 25 years, the operation and maintenance teams will occupy the premises full time and will carry out their main missions from this base: preventive and corrective maintenance. on installations, monitoring and optimization of park production, monitoring weather conditions and planning interventions.
Up to three vessels will be moored at the base's pontoons to transport maintenance technicians to the offshore wind turbines.
The maintenance base for the Fécamp offshore wind farm also marks a partnership with a strong player in the maritime world, the SNSM (National Sea Rescue Society). Indeed, the building was designed to accommodate the premises of the SNSM as well as their vessels on the new pontoons.
This base will employ around a hundred people during the operating time of the park and will accommodate a new profession in France, that of offshore wind maintenance technician. A profession which requires suitable training, notably provided at the Lycée Guy Maupassant in Fécamp with the BTS systems maintenance, wind power option.
Construction of the maintenance base, which began on November 9, 2020, has been awarded to Eiffage and will be completed in less than 14 months. With a surface area of approximately 2,000 m², including 1,200 m² of offices and 800 m² of warehouse, the building is located on the Quai de Pêche Côtière side on the Grand Quai peninsula in Fécamp. The pontoon construction site will be carried out by the Le Havre agency ETPO. The pontoons will be manufactured by Manche Industrie Marine in Dieppe.
Bertrand Allanic, Project Director of the Fécamp offshore wind farm, declares: “The maintenance base of the Fécamp offshore wind farm is the result of long-standing collaborative work with the municipality, local residents, port stakeholders and port users. Around a hundred people will work there to carry out the operation and maintenance of the park. So it’s a great pleasure to build here in Fécamp, one of the first maintenance bases for offshore wind power in France that we will be delighted to inaugurate with the Fécampois within 14 months!”
Marie-Agnès POUSSIER-WINSBACK, Mayor of Fécamp, Vice-President of the Normandy Region, is delighted with the realization of this project initiated several years ago. In fact, it indicates that " the park Fécamp offshore wind farm and its maintenance base are integral parts of a territorial project resolutely focused on the ecological and energy transition, creating jobs.”
On the practical side, the work will cause a change in traffic on the Grand Quai peninsula, with the closure of the Quai Pêche Côtière. An information panel will be set up on site to keep users informed of these changes.
About the Fécamp offshore wind farm:
Supported by EDF Renewables, Enbridge and wpd Offshore, the Fécamp offshore wind farm, with a capacity of nearly 500 MW, will be made up of 71 wind turbines located between 13 and 22 km offshore. Its commissioning is planned for 2023. It will then produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 770,000 people, or more than 60% of the inhabitants of SeineMaritime. Its commissioning is planned for 2023.
For more information: http://parc-eolien-en-mer-de-fecamp.fr/