Pointe de Pléneuf-Val-André (22). Fishermen on foot tread the rocks, divers set out on the hunt. On the top of the hold stands Hélène. It is not the nearby Verdelet islet that the forty-year-old is scrutinizing, but the wind farm in the bay of Saint-Brieuc, which is taking shape offshore. “It looks like wind turbines are turning,” she says. It’s the case.
Then, pragmatically: “Do you know how much electricity they will produce”? More than 1.8 TWh per year, the equivalent of the consumption of 835,000 inhabitants, according to the operator Iberdrola, who plans for the park to produce at least 80% of the time and run, on average, at around 40% of its maximum power
. This volume is not insignificant for Brittany where we consume almost three times more electricity than we produce. The Briochin wind farm will account for 25% of current production and 9% of consumption.
32% of renewable energy production in 2050
The 2023 Renewable Electricity Panorama sheds light on the momentum that this first offshore wind farm will provide off our coasts. An example: its 496 MW will produce more than two thirds of the electricity generated, in 2022, by Breton onshore wind farms, whose total power was then two and a half times greater.
The Brittany Region aims for offshore wind power to provide, in 26 years, 32% of renewable energy production, all sources combined. The president of the regional council, Loïg Chesnais-Girard, sees in the 62 wind turbines in the bay “a big step towards the energy autonomy of Brittany as well as a contribution to the energy sovereignty of France”.
Saint-Brieuc shows us that it was long and complicated, but that it is possible.
They equip, in fact, the second offshore wind farm put into service in France, after that of Saint-Nazaire (44) and before that of Fécamp (Seine-Maritime). “Saint-Brieuc, this shows us that it was long (Editor’s note: twelve years), complicated, but that it is possible. The Minister of the Economy confirmed, recently, in Saint-Nazaire, that the State was determined to change pace to develop wind power, in addition to nuclear power,” comments Jules Nyssen, president of the Renewable Energies Union.
Breton businesses and ports in the race
“In September 2024, new areas suitable for the installation of offshore wind farms must be defined so that the State can trigger, before the end of the year, a first group call for tenders of 10 GW, to be awarded before the end of 2026,” continues Jules Nyssen. This dynamic will hold if RTE, the electricity transmission network manager, undertakes heavy investments in electrical substations and the connection of parks and if French and European industries prove able to respond to orders.
The Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, in which Iberdrola has invested 2.4 billion euros, has initiated the development of a sector. One hundred and ten Breton companies were involved, with more than 500 local jobs out of 1,500 generated in France and Europe during its construction. For a few months, she ran the Brest port polder dedicated to renewable energies. In addition to the machining of 34 of the 62 wind turbine foundations by Navantia and that of 186 structural parts by Windar, it hosted the equipment, by Haizea Breizh, of the wind turbine mast sections. Several maintenance training courses have also emerged in Brittany. That of the Briochin wind farm will employ 80 employees.
10 to 15 billion euros in the economic fabric
If the momentum was given, Breton companies, the ports of Brest and Lorient were impatiently awaiting the award, on May 15, 2024, of the floating wind farm in South Brittany, as they will be watching for the following calls for tenders. Christophe Chabert, the general director of BrestPort, hoped, in February, that the 20 GW of offshore wind power planned off the Namo coast (Brittany and Pays de la Loire) in 2050, would contribute to injecting 10 to 15 billion euros in the Breton economic fabric, with a strong boost from 2027-2029.
In the meantime, the Eolink company will assemble the components, manufactured in China, of its 5 MW floating wind turbine, in the second half of the year, on the Brest polder. A first in Brittany. This 2,000-ton pre-commercial model will inaugurate six years of sea trials, in 2025, off the coast of Le Croisic (44), before Eolink multiplies the power by four.
The Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm reached 34.5% during its first year of production, in 2023, reduced by a month of December shutdown, according to the Panorama of renewable electricity 2023, produced by RTE , Enedis, the renewable energies union and the ORE agency.
