Iberdrola installs the first wind turbine at Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm
Iberdrola has today successfully installed the first wind turbine in the French region of Brittany at the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm. In total, the farm will have 62 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 496 MW, enough to produce 1,820 GWh/year of renewable and emission-free energy, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 families, including the heating system.
The wind turbines are being manufactured in France at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy's industrial park in the port of Le Havre. Each wind turbine has a unit capacity of 8 MW and their manufacture and assembly has created around 900 jobs.
In addition, the mechanical and electrical assembly of the internal elements of the towers of the 62 wind turbines, previously assembled by the Basque company Haizea Wind in the port of Brest, will continue to mobilise around 40 jobs.
The Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, with a markedly Spanish stamp, has also involved the participation of the Navantia - Windar consortium, in charge of the offshore wind platforms (jacket), built at the Navantia Seanergies shipyard in Fene (A Coruña). These works have led to the creation of 1,000 jobs.
"The successful installation of the first offshore wind turbine at the Saint-Brieuc wind farm represents a major milestone for Brittany and for the project. It means that we are entering the final stretch of construction of the park, which will enable the production of renewable and carbon-free energy for the people of Brittany. After more than a decade of effort and commitment from the Brittany region, local stakeholders and Iberdrola teams, this first wind turbine is also the culmination of a great industrial adventure, of which we can all be very proud," says Emmanuel Rollin, CEO of Iberdrola France.
A multi-stage installation
The first of the wind turbines was installed in the northern part of the wind farm and the work was carried out from a new-generation vessel that includes a self-lifting mobile platform from the Norwegian company Fred Olsen windcarrier. The vessel, which can carry four towers, four nacelles and 12 blades on board, will carry out several transfers from the port of Le Havre in the coming months.
At sea, the 90-metre-high wind turbine tower is first lifted from the barge and then lowered with a crane onto the transition piece at the base of the platforms (jacket), before being fixed. In a second step, the gondola is lifted and installed on the tower. Finally, the three blades are attached to the rotor.
The span of the entire installed structure reaches 209 metres to the tip of the blade and the rotor, 167 metres in diameter, is designed to better respond to the wind regime that characterises the Bay of Saint-Brieuc.
2.5 billion euro investment
The Saint-Brieuc wind farm will be the Iberdrola Group's first offshore wind farm in France when it comes into operation in 2023. Located some 16 kilometres off the coast, it will cover an area of 75 square kilometres. Its construction has required an investment of around 2,500 million euros.
This new facility demonstrates Iberdrola's commitment to the French market, where the company plans to invest around 4,000 million euros by 2025, mainly in renewable projects.
The plant will become the company's fourth offshore wind farm in operation, following West of Duddon Sands, located in the Irish Sea; Wikinger, in the Baltic Sea; and East Anglia ONE, one of the world's largest offshore wind developments, located in the southern North Sea.
Offshore wind is one of the keys to Iberdrola's growth. Just as the Group was a pioneer in onshore wind power two decades ago, the company is leading the development of offshore wind.
Iberdrola has a portfolio of projects in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Ireland, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Brazil, which could increase in the coming years thanks to the numerous auctions in which it is participating.
The Iberdrola Group's sustainable growth strategy based on promoting the electrification of the economy through investment in renewable energies, electricity grids and energy storage has enabled it to become a global energy leader.