DEME’s French subsidiary SDI has won a contract for the Leucate Floating Offshore Wind Farm. Once completed, it will be one of the largest offshore floating wind farms in France. In a consortium with JDR Cables, SDI will install the export cable that will connect the wind farm to the power grid.

The contract was awarded by transmission system operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE). The export cable will include a submarine cable and an onshore cable section, connecting into the onshore substation near Le Barcarès. Construction activities are set to start in 2022.

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Floating wind

The 30-MW wind farm is currently being developed by Les Eoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL), a consortium comprising Ocean Winds and Caisse de Dépôts, and is located 16 kilometres off the South East coast of France in the Mediterranean Sea.

‘We are delighted to be awarded this important EPCI contract for one of the first floating wind farms in the world,’ comments Philip Scheers, business unit director at DEME Offshore. ‘By combining RTE’s experience in grid connections, including export cables, with our extensive track record and expertise in the offshore wind sector and subsea operations, and JDR’s experience in static and dynamic cable manufacturing, the consortium partners are confident we will make this pioneering project a success – really putting the French floating offshore wind industry on the map.’

Large-scale commercial wind farms of 250 MW and more are currently in the planning phase. France is targeting floating wind as one of the main sources of clean energy. With plenty of areas of deep water, France is particularly suitable for floating offshore wind developments.

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