French construction group Eiffage has secured a contract worth over €1.5 billion to deliver three offshore substations for France’s transmission system operator RTE, the company said on Monday.
The project will be carried out through Eiffage’s Belgian subsidiary Smulders, which will provide engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCIC) services for the substations. The infrastructure will connect three offshore wind projects—Bretagne Sud, Narbonnaise Sud-Hérault, and Golfe de Fos—and their planned extensions to the national grid.
Each substation will operate at alternating current with a capacity of 750 megawatts, enabling the transmission of more than 2 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind sources to the mainland grid.
The topsides and jackets will be manufactured at Smulders’ facilities in France and across Europe, with final assembly to take place in Fos-sur-Mer and Vlissingen.
“This project reflects our ambition to mobilise industrial bases in France and Europe to maximise economic benefits for local territories,” RTE said in a statement.
Eiffage said the award strengthens its position in the European renewable energy market and builds on its recent acquisition of HSM Offshore Energy.
Smulders has a track record of delivering offshore energy infrastructure, having previously supplied 40 substations and more than 2,500 transition pieces for projects including Dogger Bank, Hollandse Kust, Saint-Nazaire and Provence Grand Large.
