Van Oord to Install Saint-Brieuc Wind Farm Foundations

Dutch offshore contractor Van Oord has won a contract for installation and transportation of components for the offshore wind farm development in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, France.

Under the contract awarded by the wind farm developer Ailes Marines - fully owned by Spain's Iberdrola - Van Oord will transport and install the 62 jacket foundations - steel lattice structure - and the foundation piles for the offshore substation for the wind farm.

Van Oord said Wednesday it will start the offshore operations in 2021 with the installation of the pin piles using its offshore installation vessel Aeolus, equipped with the main crane with a lifting capacity of more than 1,600 tonnes.

The Aeolus will be assisted by a second vessel in 2022 to install jackets foundations that will be manufactured in Fene, Spain and in Brest, France.

Saint-Brieuc Offshore Wind Farm is being constructed in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, 16.3 kilometers off the French coast. When finished, the wind farm with a total capacity of 496 MW will produce 1,820 GWh annually, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 inhabitants. The installation works will last several months and will continue until 2022. The wind farm will be fully commissioned in 2023.

Pieter van Oord, CEO Van Oord said: "The Saint-Brieuc project will be our first offshore wind project in France and I’m proud of our involvement. Especially since we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Iberdrola (IBE.MC) again. By taking on this offshore wind project, we are also contributing to the EU-wide renewable energy target of 32% by 2030."