Natural Power and its sister company SeaRoc have been awarded a contract by EDF to oversee the HSE and marine operations for the continued development of the Paimpol–Bréhat Tidal Farm in North Brittany, France.
Natural Power France has provided consultancy services to EDF on a range of offshore developments in French waters. Until now, the services have mainly focused on development phases, for example Environmental Impact Assessment and ornithological expertise for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm project and the Calvados offshore wind farm project.
SeaRoc has previously worked with EDF in the UK on a number of projects, most recently in the role of Principal Contractor to oversee the construction of EDF’s first offshore wind farm at Teesside in the Northeast of England. On this project, SeaRoc provided a team of construction managers to oversee all aspects of the offshore construction and the onshore compound, with a team of approximately 50 personnel. This included support from Natural Power, who acted as package manager to oversee installation and commissioning of the 27 offshore wind turbines required for the project.
David Wotherspoon, Operations Director at SeaRoc , said: “Natural Power and SeaRoc have extensive experience in offshore renewable energy – combining our expertise enables us to provide a service that meets the specific needs of EDF on this project, and harness the strength of this partnership for our French clients in the future.”
SeaRoc has been working with EDF on the Paimpol–Bréhat tidal project since 2011, providing marine and HSE advice and offshore client representation for the marine operations carried out to date. This included deployment and recovery of the OpenHydro turbine, installation of the main export cable, cable stabilisation and protection works, and the post-installation surveys and inspections.
Natural Power said that the two companies will provide EDF with a local, French speaking team of tidal energy and turbine installation experts to ensure compliance with health and safety and to carry out the role of client representative during the marine operations.
The Paimpol–Bréhat tidal farm is a tidal turbine demonstration farm located approximately 16km out at sea and 35m deep off Ile-de- Bréhat near Paimpol, France. First initiated in 2004, work began in 2008 and the first turbine was installed in August 2011. The turbine named L’Arcouest developed by OpenHydro was tested at the site from December 2013 to April 2014.
OpenHydro (a DCNS company) will develop, install and test two turbines in partnership with EDF from 2015. The pilot project is expected to pave way for the pre-commercialisation of tidal farms from 2016.
Image: DCNS