GE Renewable Energy turbine installed at France’s first commercial offshore wind farm

Installation of the first offshore wind turbine at a commercial wind farm in French seas, 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, is complete, turbine manufacturer GE has announced.

A total of 80 Haliade 150-6MW turbines are due to be installed and commissioned by the end of the year. The nacelles were assembled in GE’s Saint-Nazaire manufacturing facility in north-western France, with the 73-metre blades manufactured by GE subsidiary LM Wind Power.

EDF Renewables, Enbridge and CPP developed the Saint-Nazaire project off the coast of Pays de la Loire in western France.

Saint-Nazaire was one of three EDF offshore wind projects to be awarded a decade ago in an auction for nearly 2GW of offshore wind capacity. 

The project then became embroiled in a long saga of “permitting hurdles, red tape and legal challenges”, as described by industry association WindEurope, before gaining final approval in 2019. 

Saint-Nazaire is expected to provide the equivalent of 20% of the electricity needs of the French region of Loire-Atlantique once operational.

While the project is France’s first commercial offshore wind farm to approach completion, one Vestas V80-2.0 turbine has been operational at Ideol’s 2MW Floatgen Floatgen (2MW) Offshoreoff Le Croisic, France, Europe Click to see full details floating offshore wind pilot since 2018. 

A number of other offshore wind projects are in the development phase, accounting for nearly 9GW of capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly.

Earlier this year, President Emmanuel Macron outlined plans for France to create 40GW of offshore capacity from 50 wind farms by 2050.