RTE Probes Market for Dunkirk Offshore Substation

French transmission system operator RTE Réseau de Transport d’Electricité has issued a market survey for the construction and delivery of a substation to be installed offshore Dunkirk.

Back in June 2019, the French government selected the Éoliennes en Mer de Dunkerque (EMD) consortium of EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and innogy (now RWE) to develop a 600 MW wind farm off Dunkirk.

RTE is in charge of the development and the construction of the wind farm’s grid infrastructure, including the high voltage offshore substation.

The scope of the contract, scheduled to be issued in January 2022, will cover the fabrication and installation of the wind farm’s high voltage offshore substation, including but not limited to engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCIC).

The Dunkirk offshore wind farm is expected to reach financial closure in 2025 and be fully commissioned in 2027.

The wind farm will cover an area of around 50 square kilometres and will comprise up to 46 wind turbines installed on monopile foundations some 11 kilometres offshore.