French wind boost as grid operator dishes out huge contract for three substations
Eiffage unit Smulders will supply substations for three floating wind farms under a contract valued at $1.8bn
French industrial group Eiffage Metal, through its Belgian subsidiary Smulders, will supply substations for three floating wind farms in France as transmission operator RTE steps up its efforts to put infrastructure in place ahead of the country’s next offshore wind tender.
It should also help strengthen investor confidence as the AO9 offshore wind tender reaches its conclusion because the three areas on offer there are designed as extensions of the AO5 and AO6 areas, respectively South Brittany, Narbonnaise-Herault and Gulf of Fos.
These projects, each of which is around 250MW in capacity, are under development by Elicio-BayWa re, Ocean Winds-Banque des Territoires and EDF Renewables-Maple Power
These three consortiums are also in the running for the additional areas in the AO9 round.
These extensions would nearly triple the capacity of the original AO5 and AO6 awards, although second-stage commissioning is only expected between 2032 and 2034.
All three AO9 projects will be supported by 20-year contracts for difference (CfDs) under France’s offshore wind strategy.
RTE scope
The French offshore wind auction system makes TRE responsible for deploying offshore infrastructure including substations and export cables, and this is done through EPCIC contracts.
In an earlier move, framework EPCIC agreements were signed with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Hitachi Energy and Nexans for the Centre Manche 1 and 2 and Oleron projects in 2024 (see photo).
The contract with Eiffage, covers electrical substations and foundations for the three wind farms planned and has a total value of over €1.5bn ($1.8bn), RTE stated.
The foundations will be manufactured at Eiffage Metal's site in Fos-sur-Mer.
Each substation will have a 750MW capacity, handling the connection to the power transmission grid of more than 2GW.
Mixed results
France also concluded its AO7 and AO8 offshore wind tenders last week with mixed results.
German utility RWE signalled that it will be withdrawing from the consortium, following a strategic review of its own investments, leaving TotalEnergies to look for a new partner.
RWE was also one of the companies that had registered its interest to bid in the AO7 tender for the Oleron 1 area.
The AO7 tender was unsuccessful, leading some analysts to question why French authorities proceeded with the auction even after developers had expressed concern about technical challenges relating to the soil conditions, water depth and wind productivity.
RWE still interested
"We conduct a constant review of the attractiveness of our core markets. This is part of our normal business operations. No final decision on our offshore wind activities in France has been taken," a spokesperson said.
In its own statement, RTE said the contract for the three substations demonstrated a "strategic commitment to mobilising the French and European industrial sector to develop a robust industrial supply chain for offshore wind grid connection.
The jackets for the substations, which will be 115 meters high for the South Brittany project, and 110 meters for the Narbonnaise-Herault and Fos projects, will be fabricated at Smulders and assembled in Fos-sur-Mer.
The topsides structures will weigh approximately 5,000 tonnes and will be assembled at a site in Vlissingen, in the Netherlands.
RTE predicted strong economic benefits for the Saint-Nazaire and Fos-sur-Mer regions, "where highly strategic and technologically advanced activities will take place."
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