Transmission system operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) has awarded a consortium of JDR and DEME’s French subsidiary SDI an EPCI contract for the export cable that will connect the Leucate floating windfarm to the grid
Once completed, Leucate will be one of the largest offshore floating windfarms in France.
The 30-MW windfarm is currently being developed by Les Eoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion, a consortium comprising Ocean Winds and Caisse de Dépôts. It is located 16 km off the southeast coast of France in the Mediterranean.
The export cable will include a submarine cable and an onshore cable section, connecting to an onshore substation near Le Barcarès.
JDR will supply its ‘wet design’ 66kV cable, which removes the need for a lead radial water barrier, said to be the component most susceptible to dynamic fatigue due to the movement of a floating turbine.
In addition, a specially designed breakaway system will then protect the floating platform in the unlikely event of a mooring line failure in harsh weather conditions.
The cables will be manufactured at JDR’s facility in Hartlepool in the UK in 2022 before being shipped to France for installation.
Installation activity is set to start in 2022.
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