France: Ailes Marines Announces Two Technical Feasibility Campaigns in Saint Brieuc

October 1, 2012

The company Ailes Marines, created by IBERDROLA and EOLE-RES to develop the offshore wind farm in the bay of Saint Brieuc, announces the launch of two technical feasibility campaigns.

These campaigns will be conducted on the site of the future offshore wind farm in the bay of Saint Brieuc. Ailes Marines has commissioned the company GeoSea, subsidiary of the group DEME, to carry out these studies which concern:

A geophysical campaign, which began on 26th August 2012 and which will last 45 days. This campaign, carried out using an echosounder from the boat IXplorer, chartered by GeoSea, will determine the exact topography and the composition of the seabed on site.
A geotechnical campaign, which began on 16th September 2012 and which will last 35 days. This campaign, carried out using the self-elevating Goliath jack-up platform, chartered by GeoSea, will be based on a series of bore-holes about 30m deep, drilled from the Goliath platform. The data collected during this campaign and the ensuing analysis will enable to characterise the subsurface of the site.

These two geotechnical and geophysical campaigns will specify the dimensioning and design of the future foundations of the wind turbines (jackets) and will confirm the methods for installing the future components of the wind farm, such as foundations, cables, the electrical substation and the turbines.

Emmanuel Rollin, Project Director for Ailes Marines, declared: “With the start of these two campaigns, Ailes Marines has taken a first decisive step in the development of its offshore wind farm in the Bay of Saint Brieuc. These campaigns and the data collected will allow us to improve our knowledge of the seabed and the subsurface of the future site in order to develop and build a project in harmony with the characteristics of its environment.”

These two campaigns are part of the period known as “the risk minimisation period” of the offshore project, such as defined in the conditions stipulated by the Government in the call for tender.

Indeed, the conditions of the tender process require, amongst other things, that Ailes Marines carries out its engineering campaigns within an 18 month period after being awarded the project, which was in April 2012.

[mappress]

Press release, October 1, 2012; Image: Scira