Offshore staff
MONACO — Three floating wind structures for the 25-MW Provence Grand Large pilot project have been installed at the location 17 km from Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, near Marseille, southern France.
This is the world’s first project to employ a tension-leg floater developed by SBM Offshore in cooperation with IFP Energies Nouvelles.
According to SBM, the design leads to reduced motion and stress on the turbine components, and it is compatible with all wind turbines. In addition, its relatively small footprint is another plus for future floating wind farms.
The company’s construction vessel Normand Installer performed installation of the anchoring system and hookup of the floaters. Subsea cables will be laid from the floaters to the Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône station, with first power expected early next year following a testing period.
Provence Grand Large comprises three tension-leg floaters, each supporting an 8.4-MW wind turbine generator supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. They are the most powerful turbines installed to date offshore France, SBM added.
10.13.2023
