Glossary

Avifauna : Part of the fauna of a place made up of birds.

Benthic : Organism of an aquatic ecosystem living in contact with the ground or in its immediate vicinity. Benthic populations are called “benthos”.

Blackout : Risk of widespread power outage linked to the mismatch between supply and demand on the electricity network.

Consortium : Group of companies formed to carry out a financial or economic operation.

Dismantling : Final stage of a project which consists of dismantling the wind turbine, clearing the site of project-related equipment and returning the land to its original use or another collectively approved use.

Energy dependence or independence : Relationship between primary energy production and primary energy consumption. A territory that is energy dependent is obliged to import energy to satisfy its needs.

Sustainable development : Mode of economic development seeking to reconcile economic and social progress and environmental preservation.

Fossil energies : Product, trapped in geological formations, of the decomposition of organic matter, at the end of a process lasting several tens of millions of years. They are not so-called “renewable” energies, because the reconstitution of their stocks requires a very long time. (e.g. oil, natural gas and coal).

Marine renewable energies : Set of technologies allowing the exploitation of natural energy flows provided by the seas and oceans (currents, tides, thermal energy).

Wind turbine : Device intended to convert wind energy into electricity. Wind turbines produce electricity from renewable sources. They can be installed on land or at sea.

Floating foundation : In the future, for parks in deep or very deep waters (exceeding 60 meters in depth, unlike installed wind turbines), the principle of this foundation is based on the buoyancy and stability of the structure (maintained by anchor lines) so that it resists oscillations.

Gravity foundation :  Concrete structure placed on the seabed.

Foundation jacket : Metal mesh fixed to the seabed by several piles.

Monopile foundation : Tubular metal pile driven into the seabed.

Tripod foundation :  Tubular structure fixed to the seabed by three piles.

Greenhouse gases (GHG) : Gaseous components that absorb infrared radiation emitted by the earth's surface, contributing to the greenhouse effect. The increase in their concentration in the Earth's atmosphere is a factor suspected of being at the origin of recent global warming.

Industry : All complementary upstream and downstream industries that contribute to the manufacturing of a final product.

Client : legal entity on whose behalf a work is carried out, which uses or exploits it. He ensures the design and feasibility of the project, defines the implementation process and finances it. Ailes Marines is the project owner of the Saint-Brieuc Bay offshore wind project.

Mast : Constitutive element of the wind turbine which allows the blades to be raised to a suitable altitude, where the wind speed is higher.

Hub : Also called “nose”, the hub is generally a cast piece of steel. It supports the rotor blades and is mounted on the slow input shaft of the multiplier. It is equipped with a regulation system which allows the pitch of the blades to be modified. The hub is designed to allow access for technicians directly from the nacelle.

Nacelle : Constitutive element of the wind turbine mounted at the top of the mast, which supports the rotor, the multiplier and the generator.

Natura 2000 : European network of natural or semi-natural sites, having great heritage value due to the exceptional fauna and flora they contain, established by the “Habitat, Fauna, Flora Directive” of May 21, 1992.

Astronomical Lowest Seas : The level of Astronomical Lowest Seas (PBMA) corresponds to the hydrographic zero of nautical charts, also called 0 Marine Level (0 cm).

 Fishery resource : Living animal and plant resource of marine aquatic environments exploited by humans (fishing, aquaculture).

Rotor : Constitutive element of the wind turbine, this is the moving part of the turbine.

Watt : Basic unit for expressing electrical power. The watt hour is, for its part, the unit of energy produced or consumed during one hour.