Vessel ‘oil leak’ halts offshore wind work at Saint Brieuc

Iberdrola has paused construction activities at the 496MW Saint Brieuc Saint Brieuc (496MW) Offshoreoff Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, France, Europe Click to see full details wind farm after a jack-up vessel drilling and installing foundation piles at the site spilled hydraulic fluid into the sea.

It is unclear how long construction of the 65-turbine wind farm off the coast of Brittany, north-western France, might be delayed.

During the second series of drilling operations, a technical problem caused Panolin HLP Synth hydraulic fluid – a biodegradable fluid used for underwater applications – to leak from Van Oord’s Aeolus vessel.

Iberdrola immediately stopped work at the site once it discovered the leak, to allow maritime authorities to carry out a technical inspection of the drilling jig.

It plans to return the Aeolus jack-up vessel to port to carry out a full technical check of the vessel and equipment once this at-sea inspection is completed.

Construction at the site began in May to avoid interfering with the local scallop fishing season, which finished at the end of April.

Iberdrola expects Saint Brieuc to be online in 2023.

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.

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

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