James Fisher Renewables has been selected by the French transmission grid operator Réseau de Transport d'Electricité (RTE) to identify unexploded ordnance (UXO) along the export cable routes for the Fécamp offshore wind project.
The 18-kilometer export cable, which will be buried at depths of 5 to 35 meters, will provide the electricity transmission connection for the 71-turbine offshore wind project, which will be located 13 to 22 kilometers off the northwest coast of France.
In preparation for laying the cable, RTE has hired JF Renewables to identify and investigate potential UXO along the length of the cable's planned routes, with confirmed targets to be disposed of by the French Navy.
The contract will be fulfilled by JF Renewables’ subsidiary Mojo Maritime France (MMF), and will create temporary local jobs for project supervisors, remote-operated underwater vehicle (ROV) pilots and technicians, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and UXO dive specialists.
The award follows the successful completion of a similar UXO identification campaign for RTE’s grid connection of Saint Nazaire offshore wind project off the west coast of France, last summer. The project is expected to start in May 2021 and will be completed within two months.
The 500 MW, $2.2 billion, offshore wind farm named Fécamp, sanctioned by EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and wpd in June 2020, will feature 71 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) wind turbines.
Project commissioning is scheduled for 2023. 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.