Iberdrola commissions the second French offshore wind farm and the first in Brittany

Complete commissioning of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm

Iberdrola makes Saint-Brieuc the second offshore wind farm completely in service in France and the first in Brittany.
Since May 28, 2024, the park's wind turbines with a capacity of 496 MW (megawatts) have been operational.
From now on, the entire production of the 62 turbines is injected into the national electricity network by RTE. To date, the 8 MW turbines are the most powerful to be installed on an offshore wind farm in France.
Located as close as 16.2 km from the Breton coast, the park's production is approximately 1,820 GWh/year (gigawatt hours per year), which represents 9% of Brittany's total electricity consumption.
Thus, with this new commissioning, Iberdrola consolidates its position as leader in the development and operation of wind farms around the world.
Saint-Brieuc is the 4th offshore wind farm developed, built and operated by Iberdrola in the world, after those of West of Duddon Sands (Irish Sea, 389 MW), Wikinger (Baltic Sea, 350 MW) and East Anglia One (North Sea, 714 MW).
Iberdrola also began construction of Baltic Eagle (476 MW) in Germany, East Anglia 3 (1.4 GW) in the United Kingdom and Vineyard Wind 1 (806 MW), the first offshore wind farm in the United States.

“ We are particularly proud to announce today the full commissioning of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, twelve years after being named the winner and three years after the start of installation work. I would like to thank all the local stakeholders who have supported us over all these years, as well as the Iberdrola teams and our suppliers, who have been involved since 2012 in the realization of this gigantic industrial project, serving the energy transition and employment in France” welcomes Emmanuel Rollin, France Director of Iberdrola.

“ The challenge for us, as a European player in renewable energies, was to create the foundations of a sustainable industrial wind power sector in the French and Breton seas. We have involved local companies in this project, supporting them in particular with training to develop their skills and expertise in this rapidly developing segment, ” comments Stéphane-Alain Riou Offshore Wind Director Iberdrola France.

The total investment in the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, whose development began in 2012, amounts to 2.4 billion euros, entirely financed by Iberdrola.

The development and construction of the park mobilized more than 1,700 jobs in France, including more than 500 in Brittany.

Since 2012, from the start of the project, Ailes Marines has included the Saint-Brieuc park as an engine of economic development for the region, with the aim of bringing together and getting local businesses to work on this project.

Ailes Marines therefore favored the use of services from local companies, when the skills existed, or the establishment of companies locally, to provide new skills. More than a hundred local companies were involved in the project during its development and construction phase.

The components of the jacket foundation were thus partly built and assembled on the Brest polder (29) by the Navantia Windar consortium and its subcontractors. The electrical equipment for the masts of the 62 wind turbines was also assembled by the Haizea Breizh company on the Brest polder.

The wind turbines of the Saint-Brieuc park were manufactured in France, on the new industrial site of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, located on the port of Le Havre (76).

The park was designed with the objective of maintaining fishing activities and navigation.
Everything has been done for this purpose: moving 6km north to get out of the main scallop bed, spacing and orientation of the wind turbine lines, burying the inter-wind turbine cables, setting up specific markings... Ailes Marines -Iberdrola has been working for more than a year with representatives of the Maritime prefecture, the Côtes d'Armor prefecture and representatives of sea users, including the CDPMEM22, on the resumption of activities within the park. The maritime prefect, responsible for maritime safety, should issue a prefectural decree in the coming weeks concerning the return of activities and the rules for cohabitation within the park.