Floating wind farm EOLMED: BOURBON successfully completes the first stage of the project in 2023 and asserts a leadership role in floating offshore wind

With the successful installation this autumn of a Floating Electrical Hub (FEH) off Port-la-Nouvelle (southern France), Bourbon Subsea Services teams have laid the foundation stone for the Eolmed project, a pilot floating wind farm located off Gruissan in the Mediterranean. This project will involve three wind turbines producing more than 110 million KwH/year by 2025, which is equivalent to the consumption of 50,000 inhabitants. The FEH is a floating infrastructure that will be connected to the three wind turbines on one side and the shore connection cable on the other, enabling the transportation of electricity to the power grid.

This first major step, which took over a year to prepare, mobilized about thirty BOURBON experts (engineering, project management and offshore teams) covering the design, manufacture, towing and installation of the FEH and its subsea mooring system. Towing and installation took place over a period of two months and involved the use of an Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS), the "Bourbon Liberty 222", equipped with a BOURBON remotely operated vehicles.

The Eolmed project, led by the renewable energy company QAIR, is one of the first floating wind farm projects in the Mediterranean. Its aims is both to validate the technical reliability and business model of such an installation and to contribute to the creation of an offshore wind energy industry in the Occitanie and PACA regions (South of France).

Stephan Midenet, CEO of Bourbon Subsea Services: "Contributing to the success of the Eolmed project is a one-off opportunity for BOURBON, leader in the installation of floating wind farms, to reaffirm its commitment to participate in the growth of the renewable energy industry. The project also demonstrates our ability to provide our energy clients with turnkey services mobilizing all the skills and assets of the group in EPCI mode, from the engineering phase to offshore installation. We are now focused on preparing the second stage of this project in which BOURBON will install the field’s three wind turbines, in 2025, and connect them to the electricity grid. "