The port of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône (Bouches-du-Rhône) backed by the Caban pond, opposite Fos-sur-Mer, has not known such excitement for a long time. Behind the hangars, a good hundred Eiffage Métal workers are preparing to carry out a world first: the construction of three taut-line floating wind turbines, on behalf of EDF Renouvelables. A pilot project at 300 million euros.
This summer, with the help of a herculean crane, they made barrels which, given their size, could serve as a water tower tank – 7.50 meters in diameter and 12 meters high each: the future floats of these mills of the future. Crews are now cutting, assembling and welding long steel tubes between these buoys. The goal: to form a tripod culminating at 45 meters, on which will be bolted the mast of the wind turbine itself (90 meters), the nacelle which will house the 8.4 megawatt turbine and the blades (75 meters wide each). In grey, everything that will be submerged, in yellow what will appear above water.
In the summer of 2023, the three giants – 2,500 tons each – will set sail one behind the other, passing in front of the famous Napoleon beach. 17 kilometers offshore, they will be attached at a depth of 100 meters using suction anchors. “The energy transition is an emergency and floating wind power is a new way to produce carbon-free electricity. As France has the largest stretch of coastline in Europe, it is particularly suitable”explains Christine de Jouëtte, director of the Provence Grand Large farm, of EDF Renewables.
Catch up
inhabited by a spirit “pioneer”the hydrodynamics engineer is pleased to enjoy a site ” extraordinary “. “It is one of the windiest in the Mediterranean, with a mistral and a tramontane blowing at an average of 10 meters per second, a seabed that is sufficiently soft to settle there without difficulty, and the proximity of port infrastructures suitable for make the floats, store them and put them in the water »she points out.
All players in offshore wind power confirm this: “France has missed the mark of the installed wind, it would not be a question of missing that of the floating! » A process that has nothing to do with conventional offshore wind turbines like those inaugurated in September opposite Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique). Three first commercial projects were put up for competition in March 2022, for a total installed capacity of 750 megawatts distributed between Belle-Ile (Morbihan), Port-la-Nouvelle (Aude) and probably Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du- Rhone). A dozen candidates were pre-selected in August. The contracts will be awarded in 2023, for commissioning planned from 2027.
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