The debate on the possible construction of wind farms in the waters of the Costa Brava, in Catalonia, is still open, with a long list of projects under study and a notable controversy between defenders and opponents of this type of facility.
In parallel, the administrations and companies in France follow a quite different rhythm and -after a process of debate and consultation, in some cases not without controversy- they have started the works for the installation of the first floating offshore wind turbines on its Mediterranean coast. .
The first of the works, started last March, provides for the installation of wind turbines up to 260 meters high 18 kilometers from the coast between Leucate and Barcarès, some 60 kilometers from the Spanish-French border in Cerbère-Portbou.
On Sunday, March 5, the official ceremony for the start of the work of the public company RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Electricité) of the building that will house the connection of the future ground connection cable of the Floating Wind Turbines of the Gulf of Lion (EFGL), name of the general wind energy project on the French Mediterranean coast”, the company explains on its website.
In a first phase, the Leucate park will have three floating wind turbines, each with an installed capacity of 10 Mw, which will be located between 16 and 18 km from the coastline. The differences with the Costa Brava are notable but without a doubt, the French project can serve as a reference to know the environmental and landscape impact of this type of facility.
As in other offshore wind projects, one of the important parts from the environmental point of view is the routing of the electricity transport cables to the base station on land, which in many cases must pass through the beach. In the case of Leucate, the TEN line will create a 63,000 volt submarine and underground link over approximately twenty kilometres. The cost of the connection is estimated at 40 million euros and is borne by the operators.
After the construction of this building on land, drilling will be carried out under the Barcarès beach to place the cable that will later be submerged until it reaches the wind turbines.
The EFGL pilot floating wind farm project and its electrical connection, carried out respectively by the company LEFGL in charge of its development, installation and operation, and by RTE, was selected in 2016 as a result of a call for projects from ADEME and supported by the Program of Future Investments. This pilot installation will be able to produce each year, starting in 2024, the equivalent of the electricity consumption of more than 50,000 inhabitants.
The wind turbines that will make up this first French park in the Mediterranean are being built by EolMed in Gruissan, in an initiative led by a consortium with the participation of TotalEnergies and BW Ideol. The assembly of these structures is scheduled to take place in 2024 in Port La Nouvelle.
The Mediterranean basin in France will be home to several floating wind power projects in the coming years:
• 3 pilot farms: floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Lion off the cities of Leucate and Barcarès (30 MW), Eolmed located off Port-la-Nouvelle (30 MW) and Provence Grand Large in the Gulf of Fos (25MW) .
• 2 commercial parks of 250 MW each that will have to be subject to subsequent expansions of 500 MW.
The first of them will be located in Leucate Barcarès. The location of the second park is still to be defined between a preferential zone in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur facing the Gulf of Fos and a second zone in the Pyrénées-Orientales facing Roussillon. This location will be chosen after technical and environmental studies and additional consultation.
The strong development of offshore wind energy raised as floating is envisioned to achieve the objectives of the energy transition, highlights RTE. All the scenarios developed in the prospective study Energy Futures 2050 take into account an energy mix that oscillates between 31% and 12% of the installed capacity of offshore wind turbines in 2050. work in response to these objectives and develop the best technologies to achieve them , mentions RTE.
