DEME has successfully installed a 2,100-ton offshore substation (OSS) in France at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.
The electrical substation was constructed by a consortium including Atlantique Offshore Energy, the business unit of Chantiers de l’Atlantique dedicated to renewable marine energies, GE Grid Solutions and DEME Group’s French subsidiary SDI. The 480 MW offshore wind project is being developed by EDF Renouvelables, EIH (an indirect subsidiary of Enbridge Inc.) and CPP Investments.
Saint-Nazaire, scheduled to be operational in 2022, is the first commercial offshore wind farm installed in French waters. The contract for the substation was awarded in 2019.
The France-based ACS division of GE Grid Solutions designed and integrated the high- and medium-voltage systems. Those include five 220 kV gas-insulated switchgears from Aix Les Bains, France; two 220/33 kV transformers manufactured in Monchengladbach, Germany; two SCADA systems developed in Montpellier, France; and one 33 kV gas insulated switchgear and a telecommunication system.
DEME Offshore carried out the transport and installation of the OSS, including the offshore pre-piling works. Chantiers de l’Atlantique is responsible for the topside and jacket foundation design, manufacturing and commissioning. GE Grid Solutions is responsible for the high voltage electrical equipment and protection control systems design, manufacturing and commissioning.
The same consortium responsible for Saint-Nazaire has also been selected by Eoliennes Offshore des Hautes Falaises et Eoliennes Offshore du Calvados to design, manufacture and install the electrical substations for the Fécamp and Calvados (Courseulles-sur-Mer) wind farms in Normandy, France.
