ENGIE, EDP Renewables, Caisse des Dépôts and Eiffage have submitted their “pilot floating wind farm” proposal to ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency. From the proposed project areas, they chose the Leucate site on the Mediterranean to build the project named Les éoliennes flottantes du golfe du Lion.
The installation will include 3 to 6 wind turbines of a minimum of 6MW each. They will be joined with an integrated semi-submersible type floating foundation proposed by Eiffage Métal. The concept developed by Principle Power in its Aix-en-Provence engineering center has been tested off the coast of Portugal since 2011. Eiffage Métal will manufacture and install the floats. To provide the main components of the project’s pre-commercial facilities, the joint venture will call upon a network of French businesses along the Mediterranean coast, particularly in the Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées region. The region’s port infrastructure will be used for assembly and maintenance operations and will provide the main components of the pre-commercial facilities.