France’s first offshore wind turbine produces electricity

PARIS -

Floating offshore wind turbine Floatgen, the first offshore wind turbine installed off the French coast, exported its first KWh to the electricity grid.

The connection of the electricity export cable and a final series of tests carried out in recent days enabled the Floatgen wind turbine, which is installed 22 km off Le Croisic (Loire-Atlantique), to become fully operational on Tuesday 18 September.

This announcement is a highly symbolic step for the partners involved in this project. This wind turbine is the first operational unit of the floating foundation concept patented by Ideol and built in concrete by Bouygues Travaux Publics. A second unit of the Ideol foundation will soon be operational off Japan. For Centrale Nantes, this is the first production tool and the first injection of electricity into its export cable at its SEM-REV test site dedicated to marine renewable energies (third installation after tests on acoustic sensors and cable weights).

This announcement is also symbolic for France since Floatgen lays the foundation for an industrial offshore wind energy sector and represents a unique opportunity to become the global leader in floating wind.

With its connection to the grid, SEM-REV will enable the wind turbine to supply electricity to 5000 inhabitants.