| Work Detail |
SPIE Oil & Gas Services, a subsidiary of SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, has been awarded the electrical, instrumentation and telecommunications contracts for two offshore wind farms off the French coast at Fécamp (Seine-Maritime) and Courseulles-sur-Mer (Calvados), in partnership with the Industrie division of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire. Amongst the services to be provided will be engineering, procurement and supply of equipment, on-site assembly, end-to-end connections and support for offshore commissioning.
Relying on over 40 years experience in offshore projects, SPIE Oil & Gas Services is continuing its diversification into renewable energies with its participation in two projects located off the French coast of Normandy. Launched following two state calls for tenders aimed at reaching targets for renewable energy, these offshore wind farms at Fécamp and Courseulles-sur-Mer are just some of the flagship projects which will be delivered over the next few years in the offshore wind sector.
For each of these wind farms, SPIE Oil & Gas Services has been tasked in 2020 and then again in 2021 with ensuring the supply and installation of electrical and data transmission systems, interior and exterior lighting, video surveillance and fire detection systems. These operations are carried out on the foundations of each wind turbine. SPIE Oil & Gas Services will also ensure the installation of maritime radars.
For these two operations, SPIE Oil & Gas Services will rely on expertise of the teams from the Industrie division of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire in terms of electrical cabinets and video surveillance systems.
Fécamp: first offshore wind farm in Normandy to be connected to the French electricity grid
The Fécamp offshore wind farm is made up of 71 turbines located at between 13 and 22 km off the coast of Fécamp, covering a total surface area of 60 km2 and producing a total output of around 500 MW. The expected production output of this site is equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 60% of the inhabitants of the Seine-Maritime region, some 770,000 people. Commissioning is planned for 2023.
For this contract, SPIE Oil & Gas Services was chosen by a consortium made up of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Saipem and Boskalis representing the end client, the Fécamp offshore wind farm.
Bouygues Travaux Publics is responsible for the construction of the 71 Gravity-Based Structures (GBS) upon which the turbine masts will be installed, Saipem for the installation of the turbine bases in the sea bed and Boskalis for the foundation ballast, installing protection systems and filling the bases with ballast. The GBS are made up of a reinforced concrete structure filled with ballast and set into the seabed. The massive weight of these foundations (around 5,000 tonnes) is enough to ensure their stability and support the weight of the machinery and equipment. Once they have been manufactured at the site in Le Havre, the GBS, measuring 48-54 metres in height, will then be transported to the sea off Fécamp. The GBS and wind turbines will be assembled offshore in 2023.
SPIE Oil & Gas Services will then be called in one last time to perform all the end-to-end electrical connections.
Courseulles-sur-Mer: 64 wind turbines producing the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of more than 90% of the population of the Calvados region.
The Calvados offshore wind farm is made up of 64 offshore turbines located more than 10 km off the coast at Bessin, covering a total surface area of 50 km2. With commissioning planned for 2024, the production output of this site will be enough to cover the electricity consumption of nearly 630,000 people, or more than 90% of the inhabitants of the Calvados region. Unlike the Fécamp offshore wind farm, the turbines at the Calvados site will have monopile foundations, like a giant pole which is driven into the seabed, allowing each turbine to withstand the combined forces of wind, tide and waves. For this wind farm, the teams at SPIE Oil & Gas Services are responsible for project management, engineering, procuring and integrating the electrical and instrumentation equipment within the Transition Pieces designed by Saipem. Final commissioning and electrical connections will be carried out by SPIE Oil & Gas Services in 2024 off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer.
"These two contracts illustrate our ability to support our customers with their new ventures in the area of renewable energy, thanks to our expertise in the field of electrical systems and our handling of the demands of offshore projects. We are proud to be contributing to the development of these two large offshore wind farms," says Claude Ranieri, Director of the Europe/North Africa business unit at SPIE Oil & Gas Services.
In addition to France and Europe, SPIE Oil & Gas Services has a strong international presence, where it also supports its customers in their energy transition, particularly in the Middle East for solar panel installation projects and in the Asia-Pacific region for hydrogen projects. According to Christophe Bernhart, Managing Director of SPIE Oil & Gas Services, these two new references strengthen our position as a partner in the energy transition. |
