DEME, Eiffage Win Contract for French OWP

The consortium including DEME and Eiffage Métal has won an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract for 80 foundations at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm in France.

The scope includes the design, fabrication, and installation of full face drilled monopile foundations. The consortium contract has a total value of more than EUR 500 million.

Design activities already kicked off in order to start the production of the foundations in the spring of 2020.

The first foundations will be installed on a rocky seabed in the spring of 2021 and the project is set for completion in the summer of 2022.

The 480 MW wind farm, belonging to EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge, will be built between 12 and 20 km off the Guérande peninsula in western France. The depth of the foundations ranges between 12 and 25 meters.

The power generated by Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm will cover the equivalent of 20% of the Loire-Atlantique department's electricity demand. The facility will be brought into operation in 2022.

"Eiffage is very proud to have been selected to help build France's first offshore wind farm," said Antoine Brésolin, CEO of Eiffage Métal.

"The Group, which already has substantial operations on this market in Northern Europe, where Eiffage Métal, through its subsidiary Smulders, has a large number of wind farm project references off the coasts of Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, will now have an opportunity to apply its expertise in France. The members of the joint venture are looking forward to working with EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge to complete this project safely and in accordance with its environmental features," Antoine added.

"We are delighted to have won a first EPCI contract covering foundations in France and to have this opportunity to help the country meet its ambitious energy transition objectives," said Jan Vandenbroeck, Managing Director of French DEME subsidiaries.

"The contract reflects the technical expertise that enables us to deliver innovative solutions for the offshore wind farm sector. Some of the Saint-Nazaire monopile foundations will be fully bored, which is a step forward for the offshore wind farm industry and will open up new prospects for the sector," Jan added.