The development of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in the waters off French Brittany is going according to schedule, Iberdrola announced.
In a statement, Iberdrola said it had finished the first construction campaign by installing 65 per cent of the piles and 40 per cent of the plant’s offshore wind platforms. These components were created at Windar’s Avilés and Navantia’s Fene facilities.
In total, 124 piles have already been placed to anchor the substation and 40 of the wind farm’s 62 wind turbines to the seabed.
The installation of 24 platforms (about 40 per cent of the total intended) was also accomplished during this first phase. Iberdrola said the triangular foundations would be built in three stages. The first involves raising the structure of a transport barge and lowering it onto the site using a crane. The three frame legs are put into the piles previously attached to the seabed during the second stage, ready for future sealing of the lower sections of the legs.
According to Iberdrola, the platforms have a very low environmental impact due to their lattice construction, as they enable the circulation of water masses and biodiversity while encouraging the artificial reef effect.
Depending on weather conditions, the project will proceed in January with the installation of cabling between wind turbines. Work on the wind farm’s connecting cable is set to commence in mid-January 2023. A total of 90 kilometres of high-voltage alternating current connecting cables rated at 66 kV will be installed.
The drilling and pile installation operations will resume in the first quarter when the remaining 66 piles will be anchored. As a result, the offshore wind platforms will be reinstalled in the second half of the year, and wind turbine assembly will begin.
The Saint-Brieuc wind farm will be Iberdrola’s first significant offshore wind farm in France and the company’s fourth in operation. With a capacity of around 500 MW, it will create enough renewable energy to meet the electrical needs of 835,000 people once operational.
