FRANCE – GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions is manufacturing and commissioning the high voltage electrical equipment and protection control systems for the St Nazaire offshore substation.

The first electrical offshore substation (OSS) in France has been transported from St Nazaire in France and installed on its jacket 12 km (7.8 miles) from the coast.

The high and medium voltage systems for this project were designed and integrated by GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions’ AC Systems division, responsible for projects at its site in St. Priest, France.

The systems include five 220 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) from Aix-les-Bains, France, two 220/33 kV transformers manufactured in Monchengladbach, Germany, two SCADA systems developed in Montpellier, France, as well as one 33 kV GIS and a telecommunications system.

The transport and installation of the OSS were carried out by DEME Offshore, including the offshore pre-piling works. Chantiers de l’Atlantique is responsible for the topside and jacket foundation design, manufacturing, and commissioning.

The electrical substation for Saint Nazaire’s offshore wind farm will be connected to 80 Haliade 150 6 MW offshore wind turbines manufactured by GE Renewable Energy.

The Parc Eolien en mer de St Nazaire is the first offshore wind farm France. It will have a capacity of 480 MW, with the ability to power 20% of the Department Loire Atlantique. This project targets 32% renewables within its total energy consumption.

This project was awarded in 2019 to a consortium including Atlantique Offshore Energy, the business unit of Chantiers de l’Atlantique dedicated to Renewable Marine Energies, DEME Group’s French subsidiary SDI, Chantiers de l’Atlantique and GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions. The project is being developed by EDF Renouvelables and EIH S.à r.l, an indirect subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., and CPP Investments., GE said in a press release.

The St Nazaire wind park project is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2022.

Source: GE’s Grid Solutions