Chantiers de l’Atlantique to Build Substation for 600 MW French Offshore Wind Farm

December 5, 2024, by Adnan Memija

French transmission system operator (TSO) RTE Réseau Transport d’Electricité has signed a contract with Chantiers de l’Atlantique for the design, construction, assembly, and installation of a substation for the 600 MW Dunkirk offshore wind farm in France.

RTE selected Chantiers de l’Atlantique to finalise the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts for the offshore substation and foundations, worth around EUR 320 million.

The assembly of the substation platform will take place in Saint-Nazaire, while the foundation will be manufactured in Fos-sur-Mer, said RTE.

In the coming weeks, RTE will finalise the contract for the supply of cables necessary for the connection of this offshore wind project, according to the TSO.

In November 2022, RTE 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.

RTE is in charge of the development and construction of the wind farm’s grid infrastructure, including the high-voltage offshore substation.

In 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.

The project is planned to comprise a maximum of 46 wind turbines, installed on monopile foundations. The wind farm will cover an area of 50 square kilometres.

Once completed, the Dunkirk offshore wind farm is expected to produce around 2.3 TWh of electricity per year, which is the equivalent annual consumption of almost one million people, according to the developer.