DEME’s Innovation to Undergo Operability Check-Up Ahead of Offshore Wind Work in France

July 11, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

DEME has contracted Innosea to assess the operability of its jack-up vessel Innovation ahead of the construction work on the 496 MW Iles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm in France.

Under the contract, Innosea, part of the renewable energy consultant OWC, will provide a range of advanced engineering analyses, including hydrodynamic and impact modelling using OrcaFlex and finite element analyses modelling for analysing stresses on the jack-up legs.

“Maximum operability of a jack-up vessel is key for securing the safe and timely installation of the monopile foundations on an offshore wind project. Detailed evaluation of the vessel’s reactions to the environmental loads is therefore critical for early risk mitigation in the offshore construction programme, thereby adding value to the project and the windfarm’s future bottom line”, said Valentin Arramounet, Innosea’s project manager.

DEME was awarded two transport and installation contracts, for the foundations and the offshore substation, for the Iles D’Yeu et Noirmoutier wind farm at the beginning of this year.

In April, the company contracted Allseas for the installation of the offshore substation, with DEME tasked with installing the pin piles for the jacket foundation and transporting the jacket and the topside to the project site, where they will be transferred to Allseas’ vessel Pioneering Spirit for installation with its 5000-tonne crane.

The Iles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier project is being built off the Vendée coast by the Eoliennes en Mer des îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN) consortium, comprising Ocean Winds, Sumitomo Corporation, Banque des Territoires and Vendée Energie.

The consortium reached the final investment decision and moved the project into the construction stage at the beginning of April.

The 496 MW Iles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm will comprise 62 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines and is scheduled to be commissioned in 2025.