EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge Éolien France 2 S.à.r.l Continue Construction of the Provence Grand Large Pilot Project and Confirm Their Ambitions in Floating Offshore Wind Power

EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge Éolien France 2 S.à.r.l, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, are continuing to build their floating offshore wind pilot project, Provence Grand Large, off the coast of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhone. This new technology, which makes it possible to develop projects in deep waters, will contribute to the French objectives for the energy transition.
Selected by the State in 2016 and supported by the European Union (Ner 300 and Feder programs), the Future Investments Program (PIA) operated by the Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME), and the South Region , Provence Grand Large is the first floating offshore wind project in France under construction, and the first in the world to use an innovative system of tensioned mooring line floats developed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles. Installed 17 km from the coast, the three floating offshore wind turbines of 8.4 MW each will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 45,000 inhabitants.

The project has passed several important milestones in recent months. Launched at the end of 2020, the construction site for the floats by SBM Offshore on the Eiffage Métal site in Fos-sur-Mer is continuing, currently mobilizing around a hundred people in the port area. At the same time, the land connection works prior to the laying of the electric cables are being finalized, in close collaboration with RTE. Project financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners were secured in November 2021 for a total project investment cost of approximately €300 million, marking the world’s first floating offshore wind project financing by commercial banks.

Developed in consultation with all the actors of the territory, the project benefits from the support of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and all the communities of the Gulf of Fos. It enables EDF Renewables and EEF2, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, to contribute to the beginnings of an industrial sector that creates jobs in France. Each stage of the project also constitutes valuable feedback for the two partners, both technologically and industrially, as well as in terms of consultation, the environment, biodiversity and the coexistence of uses.

Pioneers and leaders in France of offshore wind power with four projects in progress, three of which are under construction, the consortium also confirms its ambitions in the floating offshore wind market in France.

Cédric Le Bousse, Director of Marine Renewable Energies France at EDF Renewables, says:

“Since 2011, the Provence Grand Large pilot project has been involved in the birth of floating offshore wind power in France. The quality of the collaboration with our partners SBM Offshore, which is building and installing the floats, as well as Siemens Gamesa and Prysmian, respectively in charge of the turbines and the electric cables, has enabled the project to progress both in terms of its construction and its financing with the nine partner banks. These are all key steps towards the commissioning scheduled for 2023. It is also a decisive feedback to increase our expertise and support the development of the projects that we carry out in the south of Brittany (AO5) and that we are studying in response to fixed and floating offshore wind tenders. The project contributes to the achievement of the objective of carbon neutrality in 2050 set by the French government, in line with the objectives set by the EDF Group in its CAP 2030 strategy”.Selected by the State in 2016 and supported by the European Union (Ner 300 and Feder programs), the Future Investments Program (PIA) operated by the Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME), and the South Region, Provence Grand Large is the first floating offshore wind project de France under construction, and the first in the world to use an innovative system of tensioned anchor line floats developed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles. Installed 17 km from the coast, the three floating offshore wind turbines of 8.4 MW each will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 45,000 inhabitants.

The project has passed several important milestones in recent months. Launched at the end of 2020, the construction site for the floats by SBM Offshore on the Eiffage Métal site in Fos-sur-Mer is continuing, currently mobilizing around a hundred people in the port area. At the same time, the land connection works prior to the laying of the electric cables are being finalized, in close collaboration with RTE. Project financing agreements between the consortium and its financial partners were secured in November 2021 for a total project investment cost of approximately €300 million, marking the world’s first floating offshore wind project financing by commercial banks.

Developed in consultation with all the actors of the territory, the project benefits from the support of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and all the communities of the Gulf of Fos. It enables EDF Renewables and EEF2, a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments, to contribute to the beginnings of an industrial sector that creates jobs in France. Cha