Italy's Saipem has started work at the Courseulles-sur-Mer offshore wind project in Normandy, the energy group's CEO Alessandro Puliti said on Monday, adding that the wind farm should be completed in 2025.
Some big offshore wind projects around the world have recently been cancelled or delayed due to cost increases, and financial analysts were monitoring Courseulles-sur-Mer to exclude any issues in the delivery of the works.
Saipem was awarded the contract in 2021 by Eoliennes Offshore du Calvados SAS (EODC), which is sponsored by a consortium led by France's EDF Renewables. It should be worth nearly 500 million euros ($537.4 million) for Saipem.
"Today we are starting to drill to lay the foundations for the monopiles," said Puliti, speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the Global Energy Transition conference in Milan.
The project entails the design, construction and installation works for 64 foundations bearing an equivalent number of turbines.
Puliti said that Saipem's offshore expertise in fossil fuel projects can easily be extended to the wind offshore sector.
The Italian group has already delivered eight offshore wind projects, Saipem's CEO said, asking for an increase in government incentives for such projects to avoid issues caused by cost inflation.
($1 = 0.9304 euros)
(Reuters - Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Jan Harvey)