Chantiers de l’Atlantique has awarded Smulders, through its subsidiary Iemants, a contract for engineering, procurement, and construction of the two jackets of the offshore converter stations for the Centre Manche 1 and Centre Manche 2 offshore wind farms in France.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique acted on behalf of the French transmission system operator (TSO) Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE).
In collaboration with Eiffage Métal, Smulders is responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction of the two jackets for the HVDC converter stations.
The works will be carried out from Smulders’ production facilities in Belgium, with the final assembly being done at the company’s yard in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
Each jacket foundation will weigh approximately 7,000 tonnes and support an electrical transformer substation of 1.25 GW capacity.
Construction is planned to start in 2026, with the installation of jackets for Centre Manche 1 and Centre Manche 2 to take place in 2029 and 2030, respectively.
The 1 GW Centre Manche 1 (AO4) wind farm project offshore Normandy will be built by Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie, a special purpose company of EDF Renouvelables and Canada’s Maple Power.
The 1.5 GW Centre Manche 2 (AO8) wind farm covers 260 square kilometres and is situated 40-50 kilometres east of the Manche department.
The Centre Manche 1 grid connection will link the entire AO4 offshore wind farm capacity, as well as a portion of the AO8 offshore wind farm capacity. Meanwhile, the Centre Manche 2 grid connection will connect up to 1.25 GW of the AO8 offshore wind farm.