Belgium-based offshore installation firm DEME Offshore has installed the offshore substation of the Fécamp offshore wind farm, offshore France, using its new flagship vessel 'Orion.'
The DP3 installation vessel Orion is equipped with a 5,000-tonne crane, built to handle the next generation of offshore wind farm components.
‘Orion’ has now installed the 1,300-tonne jacket and the 2,200-tonne topside, completing the project on schedule on August 11.
Four months ago, DEME also carried out the pre-installation of the offshore substation’s foundations using the DP2 jack-up vessel ‘Sea Installer.’
Fécamp’s substation was constructed by a consortium including Atlantique Offshore Energy, the business unit of Chantiers de l’Atlantique dedicated to renewable marine energies, GE Grid Solutions, and DEME Group’s French subsidiary SDI.
The same consortium has also been selected to design, manufacture and install the electrical substations for the Saint-Nazaire and Courseulles-sur-Mer offshore wind farms in France.
As for the 500 MW Fecamp wind farm, it will feature 71 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) wind turbines located between 13km and 22km from the coast of northwest France.
The power generated by the wind farm will provide enough annual electricity to meet the power needs for 770,000 people, or over 60% of the Seine-Maritime department's population.