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Cable manufacturing completed for Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind farm

Prysmian Group has completed the submarine cable manufacturing phase on the Provence Grand Large project, a floating offshore wind farm nearing completion in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of France that will demonstrate the viability of a new solution crucial to helping European countries meet the most ambitious carbon reduction targets in the world.

 

Europe has been a pioneer in the offshore wind industry sector, and now has the opportunity to lead global markets in this important evolution in wind power technology. Until now, offshore windfarms could only be installed in shallow water. But when turbines are installed on floating platforms, they can be located farther out at sea, and in deeper water. The cables must be dynamic, capable of withstanding the action of waves and currents without breaking.

“Dynamic cables are still a young technology, which is why we are excited to have successfully completed the manufacturing phase for Provence Grand Large,” explains Project Manager Alessandro Pistonesi. “It’s an important milestone therefore for us as a group, and for the industry in general.”

Alessandro Pistonesi

Project Manager

The milestone is particularly important for Prysmian. Provence Grand Large is Prysmian Group’s first turnkey project for design, manufacturing and installation of a dynamic cables system for a floating offshore wind farm.

Transition joint

 

The “transition joint” is a transition area between the static and the dynamic cable. It is made in the factory and has the same diameter and the same mechanical and electrical properties of the cable, so it doesn’t add any specific constrain to the laying operation.

 

pgl-1200x200.png

Transition joint

 

The “transition joint” is a transition area between the static and the dynamic cable. It is made in the factory and has the same diameter and the same mechanical and electrical properties of the cable, so it doesn’t add any specific constrain to the laying operation.

 

pgl-1200x200.png

Floating offshore wind farms may prove to be a game changer in terms of helping countries in the Mediterranean basin meet their energy transition goals, literally opening up new portions of seaside that were previously unfeasible. The EU has agreed a 32% renewable energy target in final energy demand by 2030. This target means that renewables would meet around 55% of electricity output by 2030. Most of the EU’s offshore wind farms are located in Northern Europe, where the seabed is shallow. But in the Mediterranean, even a distance such as that between Sardinia and the coast near Rome (connected by Prysmian Group’s SAPEI cable) reaches depths of 1.6 kilometers.

Once completed by the end of 2023, the Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind farm will provide 24 MW of clean, safe and reliable energy to more than 40,000 households in France. It is located about 17 kilometers from the coastal town of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône (near Marseilles) in water depth of about 100 meters. The three 8.4 MW turbines will be installed on floating foundations. Prysmian Group will connect the turbines to the public electricity transmission grid operated by RTE via a 19-kilometre submarine cable and a 9-kilometre underground cable.

Prysmian has completed the onshore portion of the project and by the end of 2023 will complete the offshore part. This pilot project is being led by EDF Renewables.

“This project is an important business card for Prysmian Group in the floating world, which are the future of offshore wind farms,” says Pistonesi. “We are establishing ourselves as a single source supplier providing design, cables, contracting, installation and testing in a true turnkey package.”

Alessandro Pistonesi

Project Manager