DEME awarded €300 million contracts for wind farm

The three contracts are specifically for DEME to:

1. Transport and install the pin piles and jackets of the turbines 

2. Transport and install the jacket and topside for the offshore substation

3. Carry out the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) scope for 120km of inter-array cables.

Piling operations for the offshore substation foundation are set to start in 2024 and the jacket foundation installation the following year. One of DEME’s cable installation vessels is set to perform the cable laying scope, following the installation of the substation. 

Energy firm RTE, which is responsible for the connection of the wind farm, will set up a double submarine connection to transfer the electricity generated at sea to the onshore grid. The jackets and electrical substation are to be built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire.

The Dieppe Le Tréport wind farm is owned by a consortium made up of Ocean Winds (Engie-EDPR), Sumitomo Corporation and Banque des Territoires.

It will consist of 62 wind turbines sited 15km away from Tréport and 17km from Dieppe, in northern France.

The project has been estimated to cost an eye-watering €2.7 billion in total, with the signing of all financing agreements on April 26, and a final investment decision made the following day.

The final investment decision comes shortly after the industry alliance WindEurope raised fears that not a single such decision had been made in the whole of 2022.

DEME has been popular in France, which actually came fairly late to the offshore wind party. The contracts follow the installation of the XXL monopile foundations at Saint-Nazaire and a contract award for the installation of monopile foundations and substation for the Iles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm projects. DEME Offshore has also successfully completed the transport and installation of the offshore substations of Saint-Nazaire, Fécamp and Calvados.