The first Siemens Gamesa wind turbine for the 24 MW Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind farm has been assembled in France.
The floating wind farm will comprise three Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines installed on tensioned line floats and designed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles.
The turbine components, manufactured at Siemens Gamesa’s factory in Le Havre, arrived in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône in April this year.
The floating foundations that will house the wind turbines are being assembled at Eiffage Métal’s site in Fos-sur-Mer by the French company and Smulders, its Belgian subsidiary.
The Provence Grand Large is located 40 kilometres west of Marseille and 17 kilometres off the coast of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, in water depths of around 100 metres.
The project is scheduled to be completed this year when it will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 45,000 inhabitants.
The Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind farm is owned by Parc Eolien Offshore de Provence Grand Large – a subsidiary of EDF Renouvelables, and Enbridge Eolien France 2 S.à.r.l (EEF2), a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments.