Iberdola’s Saint-Brieuc Offshore Wind Farm Delivers First Power

July 6, 2023, by Adnan Memija

The 496 MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, being built by Iberdrola through its wholly-owned subsidiary Ailes Marines in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, has produced its first green power.

The project is Iberdrola’s first in France and only the second offshore wind farm to produce power in the country, according to the press release.

After the first of 62 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167DD wind turbines were installed at the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in May, the initial electricity flow started under the supervision of Iberdrola’s maritime coordination centre based in Kerantour.

“It is with great pride that we have started producing clean energy from the first wind turbines in the project. This is a landmark moment, following 12 years of hard work to deliver this mega-scale project, which contributes both to the energy security of Brittany and to the energy transition, a key element in the battle against climate change,” said Emmanuel Rollin, CEO of Iberdrola France.

The electricity generated is collected by the offshore substation at the centre of the wind farm from where it is carried by two 225 kV subsea export cables installed by France’s RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Electricité) to Caroual beach in Erquy.

Electricity is injected into the grid via the Doberie substation located in Hénansal (Côtes-d’Armor).

The power output will increase gradually as more wind turbines are coming online in the following months, said Iberdrola.

Oslo-listed ABL has completed its Owner’s engineering scope to RTE for the grid connection of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm.

Under a contract signed in 2019, the company supported the transportation and installation of two 33-kilometre-long high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cables that were buried by jetting and mechanical cutting.

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Located 16 kilometres off the northwest coast of France in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc in the English Channel, the project will produce about 1,820 GWh/year, enough to cover nine per cent of Brittany’s total electricity consumption.

The offshore wind farm is planned to be fully operational later this year when it will provide enough electricity for 835,000 people.