SPIE, VALEMO and SERVICES VOLTIGE support EDF Renewables and its partners for the maintenance of the first French floating wind turbine pilot farm

Port de Bouc, 24 April 2024 -SPIE Industrie, VALEMO and VOLTIGE SERVICES, having formed a temporary consortium within the framework of this contract, for which SPIE Industrie is the lead company, have announced the signing of an offshore maintenance assistance contract during the preparatory installation and operation phases of the first Provence Grand Large (PGL) floating wind turbine pilot farm, supported by EDF Renewables and its partners. Thanks to a 100% French, experienced and local service offering, the three partner companies were able to convince the promoters of the Provence Grand Large project, which is a genuine innovation for the decarbonisation of energy production.

Composed of three wind turbines, the Provence Grand Large offshore pilot wind farm is located 17 km off the Golfe de Fos. With an individual capacity of 8.4 megawatts, the wind turbines are installed on "tension-leg" floaters and will allow the production of an amount equivalent to the annual consumption of 45,000 people. Provence Grand Large will be the first floating wind turbine pilot farm commissioned in France, after the 2024 summer period, and will thus contribute to the emergence of a new French sector working to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

In this context, the dedicated offshore wind farm service offering proposed by the partners SPIE Industrie, VALEMO and SERVICES VOLTIGE, has been selected by EDF Renewables and its partners for the completion of inspection work, particularly on safety and handling equipment as well as ad-hoc repairs to the floaters. This two-year contract will begin when the wind turbines are commissioned.

The three partner companies were able to convince EDF Renewables thanks to an offering that combines their complementary knowledge and expertise: multi-technical services (electrical and mechanical) in the area of industrial maintenance for SPIE Industrie, the expertise of VOLTIGE SERVICES for difficult-to-access interventions involving work on ropes and the specialisation of VALEMO in the management and monitoring of operations and maintenance of installations in the area of renewable energies.

SPIE Industrie, VALEMO and SERVICES VOLTIGE will put their expertise to work on behalf of this first French floating wind turbine pilot farm by contributing to the reliability and availability of the installations. This contract and the trust of EDF Renewables provide the partners with successful positioning with regard to their 100% French offshore service offering dedicated to floating and fixed wind farms off the coast of France.

"In a context in which the development of renewable energies is playing a key role in decarbonisation, we are proud to contribute to this challenge with a 100% French low-carbon service offering," says Xavier de Noblens, Atlantic Marine & Industry Operations Director at SPIE Industrie.

"This contract is testimony to VALEMO's desire to work collaboratively with companies determined to commit to offshore wind energy and to stay the course. After an initial involvement in floater maintenance engineering thanks to SBM-Offshore, we are delighted to continue work on the Provence Grand Large offshore floating wind farm. This new collaboration with EDF Renewables and its partnersas well as its suppliers SBM-Offshore and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, which we share with SPIE Industrie and SERVICES VOLTIGE, is a new milestone in Valemo's presence in the Mediterranean. Indeed, this offering aims to create local, sustainable jobs and will allow us to develop French expertise for a future-oriented sector," says Frédéric Prévost, Director of VALEMO.

"The Provence Grand Large pilot wind farm is full of technical challenges! Let's not forget that, in the future, floaters will account for nearly half of our national offshore wind farms, so now is the time for us to acquire experience and technical skills to guarantee a qualified local workforce tomorrow," says Aymeric Foucher, CEO of SERVICES VOLTIGE.