Asso.subsea Wraps Up Subsea Cables Installation at French Floating Wind Pilot

Subsea cable services company Asso.subsea, in partnership with Prysmian Powerlink, has completed the cable installation, burial, and protection operations for the 25 MW Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind project in France.

The project, situated in the Mediterranean Sea and developed by EDF Renewables and its partners, 17 km off the coast, on a 100-meter-deep site, is a floating wind pilot project, designed to showcase the economic viability of offshore floating wind farms.

Asso.subsea was entrusted with all marine works, including engineering, cable loading of export and inter-array dynamic cables, route preparation, cable installation and configuration of lazy wave, burial, and protection, along with Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) operations for the landing point.

By covering a cable distance of approximately 21.000 meters, Asso.subsea successfully connected France’s inaugural floating offshore turbines to the Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône station, generating electricity equivalent to the consumption of 45.000 people.

Asso.subsea used CLV Atalanti and TSV Argo vessels, as well as the AssoJet III Mk2 jetting ROV to conduct cable installation and associated operations.

CLV Atalanti, a specially designed vessel for shallow waters, was pivotal to tackle the challenges of the 780-meter landing point at the shallow waters of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, the company said.

The Provence Grand Large offshore wind project is owned by Parc Eolien Offshore de Provence Grand Large, an EDF Renewables subsidiary, in partnership with Enbridge Eolien France 2 (EEF2), which is a subsidiary Enbridge and CPP Investments.

The floating wind farm features three tension leg floaters, developed SBM Offshore in cooperation with IFP Energies Nouvelle, each supporting 8.4 MW wind turbine generator supplied by Siemens Gamesa.

Provence Grand Large Floating Wind Farm Foundations Floated Out

Provence Grand Large is expected to produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 45,000 inhabitants.

“Asso.subsea takes immense pride in participating in France’s first floating wind farm developed by EDF Renewables and its partners. During the last three years, we have worked meticulously performing very detailed engineering analyses as a testament to our commitment to innovation and sustainability.

“By contributing to EU and national targets for renewable energy generation and greenhouse gas emission reduction, this accomplishment reaffirms our company’s steadfast commitment to facilitating the green transition,” said Dimitris Panagos, Director of Offshore Wind at Asso.subsea.