The 25 MW Provence Grand Large, the first floating offshore wind farm in France and the wider Mediterranean, has been fully commissioned.
The floating offshore wind project is owned by Parc Eolien Offshore de Provence Grand Large – a subsidiary of EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge Eolien France 2 S.à.r.l (EEF2), a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., and CPP Investments.
Provence Grand Large is a pilot project with three Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines installed 17 kilometres off the coast of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.
The turbines are installed on tension leg platforms developed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles. The platforms use deep-water anchoring technology adapted from oil and gas operations, according to EDF.
Installation of the last turbine was completed in October 2023, with the project delivering its first power to the national electricity grid a year later.
The inter-array cables, export cables, and onshore cables were provided by Prysmian Group under a contract signed with the developers in 2019. The electricity produced by the project is transported to the onshore connection station operated by the French transmission system operator Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE).
With its 25 MW capacity, the Provence Grand Large wind farm is expected to supply enough electricity for 45,000 people each year.
“By contributing to the diversification of our renewable energy sources, this pilot farm plays an active role in France’s energy transition, while also supporting the emergence of a cutting-edge industrial sector around these innovative technologies. I would like to thank all the local stakeholders, as well as the teams at EDF Renewables and our partners, Enbridge and CPP Investments, for their commitment,” said Bernard Fontana , Chairman and CEO of EDF Group.
“This project could not have come to life without continuous dialogue with elected officials, associations, professional fishers, representatives of marine protected areas, economic players, and local residents. This experience is invaluable as we move forward with the construction of our second floating offshore wind farm, Méditerranée Grand Large, for which we were awarded the contract in December 2024. These projects are aligned with EDF Group’s ambition to contribute to carbon neutrality by 2050, while strengthening France’s position as a major player in the renewable energy industry.”
At the end of last year, EDF, together with its partner Maple Power, secured the right to the site in the “Golfe de Fos” area off Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône), where the consortium plans to build a 250 MW floating offshore wind farm.
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