Iberdrola plans French offshore wind build around fishing

Iberdrola will start building its 496MW Saint Brieuc Saint Brieuc (496MW) Offshoreoff Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, France, Europe Click to see full details wind farm off the coast of France next month, the company confirmed.

The project, consisting of 65 of Siemens Gamesa’s SG 8.0-167 DD turbines, is due to be one of France’s first large-scale operational offshore wind farms.

Construction is due to start on 3 May to avoid interfering with the local scallop fishing season, which finishes at the end of April.

It will start with piles for three-legged jacket foundations being drilled into the seabed.

Iberdrola will bury around 90km of inter-array cables to allow fishing activities to continue at the site. It will excavate the cable trenches between June and September this year.

The developer expects Saint Brieuc to be online in 2023.

France’s highest administrative court rejected an appeal against Saint Brieuc last December, paving the way for construction to begin.

Since it was first successful at auction in 2012, the project has faced opposition from the fishing industry, environmental groups and local politicians, who have claimed it would damage the ecosystem and lead to job losses.

In another development for France’s stuttering offshore wind sector, GE Renewable Energy announced it has dispatched the first 40 nacelles for its Haliade 150-6MW turbines due for the 480MW Saint-Nazaire (Parc du Banc de Guérande) Saint-Nazaire (Parc du Banc de Guérande) (480MW) Offshoreoff Le Croisic, Pays de la Loire, France, Europe Click to see full details project. The wind farm will consist of 80 of the turbines and is expected online next year.