First 10 MW Turbine Assembled for New Floating Wind Farm in Mediterranean Sea

The first floating wind turbine for the Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) project in France, developed by Ocean Winds and Banque des Territoires, has been assembled at Port-La Nouvelle ahead of its installation at the project site located 16 kilometres offshore Leucate and Barcarès.

The 10 MW Vestas turbine has been mounted on its floating foundation at the dedicated offshore wind terminal developed by the Occitanie Region, Ocean Winds said on 10 June, around a month after the foundation was launched at the Port of Marseille Fos and sailed out to Port-La Nouvelle.

The remaining two turbines will be progressively completed in the weeks ahead, before being towed to their installation site at sea, Ocean Wind said.

The 30 MW EFGL floating offshore wind farm will consist of three Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbines supported by Principle Power’s WindFloat semi-submersible floating foundations, which are delivered by Eiffage Métal, Smulders, and their subcontractor Geodis.

EFGL is a pilot project which will also inform the next generation of floating offshore wind farms in the Mediterranean, including the Eoliennes Flottantes d’Occitanie (EFLO), a 250 MW floating offshore wind project that is also owned by Ocean Winds and Banque des Territoires. The partners were awarded the development of the EFLO project, currently in an early stage of development, in December 2024.

Ocean Winds and Banque des Territoires also have two fixed-bottom offshore wind projects in France, the 500 MW Îles d’Yeu – Noirmoutier and the 500 MW Dieppe Le Tréport, both currently under construction.

The Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm is in the wind turbine installation phase and has already produced its first electricity.

The assembly of the EFGL floating wind turbines and their installation at sea will soon bring France and the wider Mediterranean their second floating wind farm as the 25 MW Provence Grand Large, the first floating wind project in the area, was recently commissioned.