The 500 MW Fécamp offshore wind farm, owned by Eolien Maritime France (EMF), a joint venture between the French company EDF Renouvelables; EIH S.à.rl, owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments; and Skyborn Renewables (formerly wpd offshore), is now fully operational.
The inauguration ceremony was held by the project partners and Roland Lescure, French delegated Minister for Industry and Energy.
Nous inaugurons, avec @EDFofficiel et les élus, les 71 éoliennes en mer, au large de Fécamp, qui fournissent de l’électricité à plus de 750 000 Français ! C’est un projet exemplaire et c’est fabriqué en France : des fondations à la station électrique jusqu’aux pâles d’éoliennes! pic.twitter.com/kFxuqldiPC
Located between 13 kilometres and 24 kilometres off the coast of Normandy, this is the first offshore wind farm in that region.
The project features 7 MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines, which were installed by DEME’s vessel Innovation from the port of Cherbourg.
The first unit was installed at the Fécamp project site in July 2023 and produced its first electricity shortly after installation.
By January 2024, more than half of the 71 wind turbines were in place and the final wind turbine was installed in March.
All Siemens Gamesa units are standing on gravity-based foundations supplied and installed by a consortium of Boskalis, Saipem, and Bouygues Construction.
Overall, the project involved about 3,000 jobs in the Normandy region and represents a total investment of about EUR 2 billion, according to partners.
“This new low-carbon electricity production facility would not have been possible without close, ongoing dialogue with elected representatives and local authorities, environmental associations, fishermen, economic players and local residents,” said Luc Rémont , Chairman and CEO, EDF Group.
“The development of the Saint-Nazaire and Fécamp Offshore Wind Farms has contributed to the emergence of the wind industry in France, essential for the development of future wind farms, in particular our Calvados, Dunkirk and Normandy projects.”
With the maintenance base located on the Grand Quai peninsula in Fécamp, around a hundred local jobs have been created to operate the wind farm. Day-to-day tasks will range from planning maintenance operations to optimizing electricity production.
The 500 MW offshore wind farm will be able to supply electricity to almost 770,000 people, the equivalent of about 60 per cent of the annual power consumption of the Seine-Maritime department, the partners said.
Fécamp is the third commercial-scale offshore wind project in France to be completed, following Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farms.
“Following the successful completion of Saint-Nazaire in 2022, Enbridge continues to advance the development and construction of several offshore wind projects in France, including the Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind project, and the Calvados, Dunkirk and Normandy offshore wind projects,” said Matthew Akman , Executive Vice President Corporate Strategy and President, Power, Enbridge Inc..