Installation of final inter-array cables about to start at Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier project site

Louis Dreyfus TravOcean and Prysmian will soon resume the inter-array cable installation at the Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm site in France.

According to a recent social media post from Louis Dreyfus TravOcean, 5 strings and 37 cables are left to be installed and connected at the site of the 61-turbine offshore wind farm, located in the waters 11.7 kilometers from the island of Yeu and 16.5 kilometers from the island of Noirmoutier.

Geoquip Marine’s vessel Geoquip Elena will be deployed for the cable installation and the Island Diligence service operation vessel (SOV), owned by Island Offshore, for the pull-in and termination and testing work.

The campaign will be supported by crew transfer vessels (CTVs) Farra Grainne from Farra Marine and HST Lowestoft from Purus HST.

The offshore construction campaigns that were underway at the project site last year saw 33 out of 61 monopile foundations and 17 of the 61 inter-array cables installed by November 2024.

In January, the first eight wind turbine nacelles arrived in the port of Saint-Nazaire. 

The Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier offshore wind farm will feature 61 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbines, which will be transported and installed offshore by Vole au Vent, a Jan De Nul installation vessel, starting this spring.

The offshore wind farm is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2025.

Once commissioned, the Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier project is expected to produce approximately 1,900 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 800,000 people, according to the developer.

The project is being developed by Éoliennes en Mer des Îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN), a consortium of Ocean Winds, Sumitomo Corporation, Banque des Territoires, and Vendée Energie.