- Ailes Marines, a 100% subsidiary of Iberdrola, today announced the complete installation of the 62 offshore wind turbines of the Saint-Brieuc wind farm, on schedule.
- Less than 3 years after the start of construction and installation work, the last 8 MW wind turbine was installed on its jacket foundation on December 17, 2023.
- The commissioning of the wind farm, underway since July 2023, will continue until Q1 2024.
- Once fully commissioned, the 496 MW wind farm will produce 9% of Brittany’s total electricity consumption.
Iberdrola has announced that turbine installation at the Saint-Brieuc wind farm in France has been completed.
Norwegian company Fred Olsen’s Brave Tern jack-up vessel installed the last 8 MW wind turbine at position SB49 on 17 December 2023.
The ship has made 18 rotations from Le Havre, with the components of 3 to 4 wind turbines on board.
Work to install the wind turbines began in May 2023. In the space of eight months, the 62 wind turbines built at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s Le Havre plant were installed on their jacket foundation.
Stéphane Alain Riou, Director of offshore wind Iberdrola France, said: “We are particularly proud of the work carried out by our teams within the schedule initially announced. Iberdrola once again demonstrates its ability to carry out a large-scale project here in Brittany, and at the same time confirms its status as a leader in offshore wind power. Saint-Brieuc is the first French offshore wind farm and the 4th in Europe developed and built by the group. In total, Iberdrola has offshore wind projects worth more than 10 billion euros under construction globally, all fully financed and with supply chain secured, and all being delivered on-schedule.”
Commissioning ongoing to reach a capacity of 496 Megawatts
The technical commissioning of the wind farm started with the connection of the first wind turbine to the national electricity grid in July. It will be completed during Q1 2024.
The commissioning of the wind farm is undertaken in phases. A first tranche of 20% is already operational. A second tranche of 50% will be completed in early 2024, rising to 100% in the first quarter of 2024.
On completion, the wind farm will have an installed capacity of 496 MW, producing approximately 1,820 GWh/year, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 inhabitants (including heating), or 9% of the total electricity consumption of Brittany.
About Ailes Marines
Winner of a national call for projects with the Baie de Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm project, Ailes Marines oversees the development, construction, installation, and operation of the offshore wind farm. It is a French simplified joint-stock company (SAS), 100% owned by Iberdrola.
Key figures for the Bay of Saint-Brieuc offshore wind project:
- 75 km² of surface area
- 62 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines of 8 MW
- 496 MW of installed capacity
- 1,820 GWh/year of production, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 inhabitants (including heating)
All information about the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm project developed by Ailes Marines is available on the website https://ailes-marines.bzh/
About Iberdrola
Iberdrola, Europe’s largest electricity utility by market capitalization and one of the world’s top two electricity companies, is a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks, storage, and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
The company has a workforce of over 41,500 and assets of approximately €146 billion. In 2022, Iberdrola posted revenues of nearly €54 billion, net profit of €4.34 billion, with €7.5 billion paid in tax contributions in the countries where it operates. The company helps to support more than 400,000 jobs in communities across its supply chain, and global supplier purchases topped €17.8 billion in 2022. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €150 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
