Friday 13 October 2023

SBM Offshore has announced the successful installation of the 3 floating wind units for the Provence Grand Large pilot project to their final location 17 kilometers off the Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, near Marseille, France. This marks a major milestone in the company’s Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation scope.

Provence Grand Large is the first project in the world to use a tension leg floater developed by SBM Offshore in cooperation with IFP Energies Nouvelles. SBM Offshore's floater results in reduced motion and stress on the turbine components, hence is compatible with all wind turbines. The minimal footprint of this type of floater represents also an optimal solution for the development of floating wind farms.

The anchoring system installation and hook-up of the floaters were managed and executed using our construction vessel Normand Installer.

The subsea cables will be installed from the floaters to the Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône station, with first electron anticipated early 2024 following a testing period.

The 25MW pilot farm is composed of three tension leg floaters, each supporting 8.4MW wind turbine generator supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. These are the most powerful turbines installed offshore in France today.

Provence Grand Large is expected to produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 45,000 inhabitants.