Ailes Marines, an Iberdrola subsidiary, has achieved a milestone by initiating power production from half of the wind turbines at the 496 MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France. The commissioning of the project is gradual and will continue until spring 2024, said the developer.
Located 16 kilometres off the northwest coast of France in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc in the English Channel, the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm features 62 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines with the first unit being installed at the site in May last year.
The halfway installation mark was reached in August while the last wind turbine was installed at the end of 2023.
To remind, the project produced its first power in July under the supervision of Iberdrola’s maritime coordination centre based in Kerantour.
Ailes Marine announced on 11 March the start of production of 31 wind turbines or half of the units installed at the offshore site. According to its developer, the commissioning of the 496 MW Saint Brieuc will continue until spring 2024 .
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The electricity generated by the wind turbines 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. Renewable electricity is injected into the grid via the Doberie substation located in Hénansal (Côtes-d’Armor).
Once fully commissioned, the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm will produce around 1,820 GWh/year, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 inhabitants (heating included) or nine per cent of Brittany’s total electricity consumption, said Ailes Marines.