France's First Offshore Wind Farm in Normandy Becomes Fully Operational

The 497 MW Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm, owned by Enbridge, EDF Renewables, CPP Investments and Skyborn Renewables, has officially been inaugurated in Normandy.

Located between 13 and 24 km from the northern coast of France, the wind farm will help support France's energy transition objectives, which aim to achieve a 33% share of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030.

From the production of its first megawatt-hour in July 2023, to the installation of the final wind turbine, the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm has been progressively connected to the national grid.

As of May 15, 2024, it is able to supply nearly 770, 000 people with low-carbon electricity, equivalent to about 60% of the annual electricity consumption of the Seine-Maritime region.

The 497 MW Fécamp project consists of 71 offshore Siemens Gamesa turbines, each with a generation capacity of 7 MW,

Overall, the construction of the project involved about 3,000 jobs in the Normandy region and represents a total investment of about $2.16 billion.    

With the maintenance base located on the Grand Quai peninsula in Fécamp, around 100 local jobs have been created to operate the wind farm. Day-to-day tasks will range from planning maintenance operations to optimizing electricity production.

"The successful completion of the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm marks a significant milestone for Enbridge and our project partners. Following the successful completion of Saint-Nazaire in 2022, Enbridge continues to advance the development and construction of several offshore wind projects in France, including the Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind project, and the Calvados, Dunkirk and Normandy offshore wind projects.

“These projects further highlight our commitment to being a leader in the energy transition and providing clean and secure energy to the region. Thank you to our partners – EDF Renewables, CPP Investments, and Skyborn – with whom we have helped to grow the French offshore wind industry,” said Matthew Akman, Executive Vice President Corporate Strategy and President, Power, Enbridge.