A consortium of Bouygues, Saipem, and Boskalis has been awarded the contract for design, construction, and installation of 71 concrete Gravity-Based Structures (GBS) which will serve as foundations for the Fécamp offshore wind farm turbines in Normandy, France.

The award was made by Eoliennes Offshore des Hautes Falaises (EOHF), following the launch of the $2,2 billion offshore wind project by EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and wpd on Tuesday.

The contract carries a total value of EUR 552 million (USD 616 million). The contract value split is 40.5% (Bouygues Travaux Publics) 40.5% (Saipem) 19% (Boskalis).

The offshore wind farm will be located between 13 and 22 kilometers off the coast of Fécamp in Normandy. The 71 wind turbines, to be delivered by Siemens Gamesa, will be connected to the gravity-based foundations installed on the seabed at depths between 25 and 30 meters.

Within the consortium, Bouygues, as the leader of the Consortium, and Saipem are tasked with the design, construction, and installation on the seabed of the 71 gravity-based foundations with an individual weight of up to 5,000 tonnes necessary to provide the stability of the 7MW wind turbines. Boskalis is tasked with the design and preparation of the seabed rock foundation prior to GBS installation, and the scour protection and ballasting of the GBS’ after installation on the seabed.

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, which will start in the next few days, 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.

Source: https://www.oedigital.com/news/478986-boskalis-bouygues-saipem-jv-to-build-f-camp-owf-gbs