Dolfines, 8.2 France shake hands on joint offshore wind plans

Dolfines and 8.2 France are joining forces to offer integrated services to the wind energy market, especially the offshore one, by combining their technical expertise in wind turbines, electrical infrastructures and foundations.

The offshore wind market’s growth represents a unique opportunity for an integrated player, according to the two companies, with strong growth in the number of offshore wind farms in France over the past few years.

Dolfines and 8.2 France, 8.2 Consulting’s business in the country, informed on 12 November that they had signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), agreeing to build and develop a common and integrated offer for the now huge renewable energy market, saying there are currently very few players in Europe and none in France that cover this area. The services for asset management and engineering consulting are still atomized, with players very often covering only their own area of expertise, according to the new partners.

Looking at the offshore wind sector, 450 GW of offshore wind capacity could be installed in Europe by 2050, of which 57 GW for France, which has the world’s second largest maritime area, the two companies said referring to WindEurope’s estimates.

Currently, there are 22 GW of installed offshore wind capacity in Europe, including 2 MW in France, where the objective of the national wind energy association (France Énergie Éolienne) is to have 10 GW of offshore wind power in service by 2030. Some 3.5 GW of offshore wind have been allocated in the country so far.

“With the signing of this MOU with 8.2 France, which brings us its expertise in wind technologies that are very complementary to ours, we are continuing the methodical construction of a value-creating offer for the major players in the gigantic renewable energy market“, said Jean-Claude Bourdon, President of Dolfines.

The company, which is a renewable energy subsidiary of the engineering specialist Dietswell, has been leading the EolFloat floating wind project in France and has entered an agreement with China’s CIMC Raffles earlier this year to cooperate on floating offshore wind projects in Europe and Asia.

Under the EolFloat project, a consortium of French companies has been developing the TrussFloat semi-submersible floater, which got a green light from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) last year.

The TrussFloat floating platform will be able to support wind turbines of up to 13 MW capacity.

“We quickly saw in DOLFINES’ expertise in foundations (floating, anchored and onshore), project management in France and internationally and finally the engineering of complex offshore and onshore projects a major and strategic complement to our offer”, said Bruno Allain, President of 8.2 France.