Floating wind takes pride of place in Gulf of Lion

The EFGL project will ultimately have three floating wind turbines, each capable of generating 10MW, in the Gulf of Lion (Golfe du Lion) off the coast of Occitanie in southern France, near the Pyrenees.

Calling the installation ‘a spectacular operation’, project co-owner Ocean Winds, created as a joint venture between EDPR and ENGIE, says all three will be installed by the end of August.

Preparations began in 2023, with nine anchors and anchor lines installed, each chain between 400-500 metres in length. RTE then installed the submarine connection cable to connect the turbines to the onshore electricity grid. The float itself is now connected to synthetic ropes that were laid at the beginning of July, allowing it to be anchored to the three anchor lines.

“With a unit capacity of 10 MW, these first floating wind turbines in Occitania, successively assembled at the port of Port-La Nouvelle, culminate at 186 metres at the tip of the blade,” Ocean Winds says. “They are also the most powerful ever installed in France, and the most powerful in the world ever installed on floats.

“An exceptional maritime transport project, the offshore towing operations of the three floating wind turbines of the EFGL project constitute an
exceptional and unprecedented project in the Occitanie region. The conveyance of these wind turbines from Port-La Nouvelle to the installation site 16 kilometres off the coast of Leucate and Barcarès mobilizes extraordinary logistical, port and maritime coordination resources.”

The installed turbine weights 5,000 tonnes including ballast, and was towed from the port by three harbour tugs belonging to Société Nouvelloise de Remorquage. Deep-sea tug Skandia Tender then towed it out to sea, escorted by two assistance vessels and surveillance vessels from the Pêcheurs associationMéditerranée Services.

“Thus, the teams of Ocean Winds (majority shareholder of the project alongside the Banque des Territoires) continue to combine their experience and know-how with those of Euroports (concessionaire of the wind terminal and in charge of handling operations), Vestas (supplier of the turbines, and in a few weeks in charge of the maintenance of the wind turbines) and their subcontractors, and Eiffage Métal and Smulders (ballasting, maritime transport and installation) in order to guarantee the success of these operations, which are as crucial as they are spectacular,” says Ocean Winds.

The floating wind farm is expected to last for 20 years.