First Blades for 496 MW French Offshore Wind Farm Touch Down in Saint-Nazaire

December 11, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The first blades for the Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbines, which will be installed at the Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm, have arrived at the port of Saint-Nazaire in France.

The roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel Rotra Mare docked in Saint-Nazaire on 5 December, carrying the first turbine blades for the French offshore wind farm, being developed by Éoliennes en Mer des Îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN), a consortium of Ocean Winds, Sumitomo Corporation, Banque des Territoires, and Vendée Energie.

Since mid-November, the first components of the offshore turbines, produced by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy at its factory in Le Havre, have been arriving at the Saint-Nazaire Port, serving as the pre-assembly site.

Following the delivery of compact tower frames (CTFs), used as supports for pre-assembling the towers, 16 blades were unloaded in early December. Each blade, measuring 81 metres in length, was handled using two mobile cranes, LHM 600 and 550, operating together at the Prise d’Eau quay in Saint-Nazaire.

The work was carried out by Atlantique Manutention, the Groupement de Main d’Œuvre Portuaire (GMOP), and Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port, who worked together with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy on behalf of EMYN.

Additional shipments of blades, towers, and nacelles are expected this month and in January 2025.

The nacelles, also produced in Le Havre, will be transported via a RoRo vessel to the Charbonniers quay. From there, the units will be moved to the logistics hub using SPT trailers, traveling along a heavy-duty road currently undergoing renovation and reinforcement, slated for completion in the coming weeks, said Ocean Winds.

The components for the 61 turbines will be stored at the logistics hub adjacent to the Joubert dry dock before being transported offshore by the Vole au Vent, a Jan De Nul installation vessel, starting in the spring of next year.

The turbines will be supported by monopiles, supplied by China’s Dajin Heavy Industry. The offshore work is underway, with more than half of the monopiles already installed at the site.

The Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm represents an estimated investment of EUR 2.5 billion. The construction project, which spans two and a half years, will create 1,600 direct jobs in France, including around 100 positions in port-related professions, said Ocean Winds.

The Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbines will provide a total capacity of nearly 500 MW, generating enough renewable energy to power approximately 800,000 people annually, which is the equivalent of the population of Vendée, according to the developer.