Offshore Windfarm – France Sets Offshore Industry Going

Iberdrola - Eole-RES Consortium awarded 500 MW Saint-Brieuc, France, Offshore Wind Project

The French Government has announced its decision to award the Iberdrola-Eole-RES consortium exclusive rights to develop a 500 MW offshore wind project in the area of Saint-Brieuc, off the coast of Brittany. The project is expected to generate some 2,000 jobs and play a key role in developing an offshore wind industry in France.

The Saint-Brieuc offshore project covers a total area of 80 km2 and comprises 100 wind turbines of 5 MW capacity each.

The offshore wind farm will be built some 20 km off the coast of Saint-Brieuc Bay in the French administrative area of Côtes d'Armor by the consortium led by Iberdrola and Eole- RES and including technology partners Areva, Technip and Neoen Marine. A Joint Venture company, Ailes Marines, or Sea Wings, has been set up to manage the project and subsequent operation of the site.

The Iberdrola-Eole-RES consortium will also deploy local skills such as civil engineering, manufacturing and shipbuilding to create the required economic fabric and supply chain from the wind turbine construction stage to offshore operation.The consortium has also signed agreements with French companies STX and Eiffage to manufacture jacket type foundations.