Full Offshore Substation Package Sought for French Wind Farm

November 18, 2022, by Adnan Durakovic

French transmission system operator RTE Réseau de Transport d’Electricité has issued a contract notice for the construction, delivery, and subsequent operations and maintenance of an offshore substation that will deliver electricity from the Dunkirk offshore wind farm to the grid.

The procurement process aims at awarding one single awardee with two contracts.

One EPCIC contract includes the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning of the high-voltage offshore substation; and the other O&M contract covers the operations and maintenance of the high-voltage offshore substation for a period of up to 20 years.

The tender remains open until 7 December.

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

RTE is in charge of the development and construction of the wind farm’s grid infrastructure, including the high-voltage offshore substation, two export cables with the length between 20 and 25 kilometres, an onshore substation, and the accompanying overhead transmission line.

The Dunkirk offshore wind farm is expected to reach financial closure in 2025 and be fully commissioned in 2028.

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.