France awards €4.5 billion for three offshore HVDC systems
A major contract worth €4.5 billion has been awarded to a consortium comprising Hitachi Energy and Chantiers de l'Atlantique for the construction of offshore HVDC platforms and onshore converter stations. These HVDC systems will serve three offshore wind farms planned for installation along the French coast.
The project aims to connect the Centre Manche 1 and 2 wind farms, with a combined capacity of 2.5 GW, and the 1-GW Oleron Island offshore wind farm to the onshore grid operated by RTE, France's grid operator. RTE, which also owns the connection of the offshore wind farms, awarded the contract following an international bidding process.
The new generation of offshore wind farms is more powerful and located further away from the coast, taking advantage of stronger and more favorable winds. In order to connect these offshore farms to the onshore electricity grid, it is necessary to use direct current, a technology capable of transporting electricity over very long distances. In Normandy and Oléron, the high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Hitachi Energy will enable the integration of more than 3.5 GW of renewable energy into the RTE network.
Following an international call for bids, RTE, the project owner of the connection of offshore wind farms, has selected the Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Hitachi Energy consortium to carry out the execution of offshore and onshore conversion stations for the future offshore wind farms in Normandy and Oléron.
As part of the agreement, the consortium will construct three +/-320kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore platforms and three onshore converter stations. To accommodate this large-scale project, Chantiers de l'Atlantique plans to invest nearly €100 million in expanding its Saint-Nazaire shipyard, effectively doubling its production capacity for electrical platforms.
The up to 1.2 GW Ile d’Oléron (AO7) wind farm is located off the island of Oléron, more than 35 kilometres from the coast, beyond the limits of the Marine Nature Park of the Gironde estuary and the Pertuis sea.
The 1.5 GW Centre Manche 2 (AO8) wind farm covers 260 square kilometres and is situated 40-50 kilometres east of the Manche department.
The 1 GW Centre Manche 1 (AO4) wind farm project offshore Normandy will be built by Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie, a special purpose company of EDF Renewables and Canada’s Maple Power.
This investment in offshore wind infrastructure demonstrates RTE's commitment to expanding its renewable energy capacity and highlights the growing importance of the offshore wind sector in the country's energy landscape.
