The EolMed floating wind pilot project in the south of France has been energised, according to Qair, which has been developing the project together with TotalEnergies and BW Ideol.
“This marks the start of a critical phase of technical testing, paving the way for full commissioning and the first kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity to be fed into the grid”, Qair said on 21 April via social media.
The 30 MW floating offshore wind farm is located some 20 kilometres off the coast of Port-La Nouvelle and Gruissan, in water depths of around 60 metres, and comprises three Vestas V164-10.0 MW wind turbines installed on BW Ideol’s Damping Pool floating foundations.
The first of the three floating wind turbines left the Port of Port-La Nouvelle for the project site in December 2025.
Fully consented in February 2021, EolMed reached financial close in March 2022 after the project partners secured EUR 85 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The construction of the floating foundations started in Spring 2023 in Port-La Nouvelle with the arrival of the first steel blocks that make up the three substructures. Later that year, Bourbon Subsea Services installed a floating electrical hub (FEH) at the EolMed pilot floating wind farm site.
The EolMed project entered its final phase with the launch of maritime operations in August 2025, with the installation of anchors and anchor lines, followed by the launch of floaters and the integration of wind turbines on the foundations in September last year.