Boskalis, Saipem and Bouygues Travaux Publics together have won a contract to design, build and install 71 concrete Gravity-Based Structures (GBS) as foundation for the Fécamp offshore wind farm in Normandy, France.

The contract was awarded by Eoliennes Offshore des Hautes Falaises (EOHF) and has a total value of 552 million euros. Of that amount, Bouygues and Saipem will both receive 40.5 per cent and Boskalis will take the remaining 19 per cent.

The offshore wind farm will be located between 13 and 22 kilometres off the coast of Fécamp in Normandy. The 71 wind turbines will be connected to the gravity-based foundations installed on the seabed at depths between 25 and 30 metres.

Within the consortium, Bouygues and Saipem are responsible for the design, construction and installation on the of the 71 gravity-based foundations on the seabed, while Boskalis is tasked with the preparation of the seabed rock and the scour protection and ballasting of the concrete structures. The gravity-based structures will each weigh up to 5000 tonnes and provide stability of 7-MW wind turbines.

The foundations will be constructed in the Bougainville maritime works yard in the Grand Port Maritime of Le Havre and will be transported by barge to the offshore wind farm site. The works should be completed by the end of 2022. The commissioning and operational start-up of the wind farm are planned for 2023.

With a total power output of some 500 MW, the Fécamp offshore wind farm should produce the equivalent of the domestic electricity consumption of approximately 770,000 people, representing more than 60% of the inhabitants of the Seine-Maritime department.

This article first appeared on Project Cargo Journal, which is another publication of SWZ|Maritime’s publishing partner Promedia.