On 25 March 2025, Nexans and RTE signed a framework agreement valued at over €1 billion for the design, manufacturing, supply, installation, and commissioning of approximately 450 km of subsea and 280 km of onshore HVDC cables to connect the Centre Manche 1 & 2 and Oléron offshore wind farms to the French transmission grid. This agreement effectively designates Nexans as the preferred HVDC export and land cable supplier for the Centre Manche 2 HVDC (AO8) grid connection, with project‑specific EPCI contracts to be signed in later phases.
By 20 December 2024, SLPE had been awarded a contract by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, on behalf of RTE, to perform structural and geotechnical detailed foundation design for the HVDC offshore substations serving the Centre Manche 1 and Centre Manche 2 projects in France. The scope for Centre Manche 2’s HVDC offshore converter platform covers detailed design of a jacket foundation of around 7,000 tonnes for a 1.25 GW substation, with the comprehensive design phase scheduled to last about 2.5 years and forming part of the wider EPC package that Smulders will deliver for the jacket foundations.
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Centre Manche 2 (AO8) is a point-to-point HVDC grid connection being delivered to evacuate power from the Centre Manche 2 offshore wind development to the French onshore transmission network. The system is specified as a ±320 kV, 1,250 MW Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) HVDC symmetrical monopole ...
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Centre Manche 2 HVDC connection, Centre-Manche 2 AO8 grid connection
In August 2024, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE) awarded a contract to a consortium led by Hitachi Energy and Chantiers de l’Atlantique for the onshore converter stations and offshore direct current platforms serving three French offshore wind projects, including the Centre Manche 2 (AO8) HVDC grid connection to Tourbe. Under this award, Hitachi Energy will supply its 1,250 MW, ±320 kV VSC‑based HVDC Light® converter system in a symmetrical monopole configuration for the Centre Manche 2 offshore converter platform and the corresponding onshore converter station, enabling efficient transmission of wind power from the English Channel to the French 400 kV network at Tourbe.
In August 2024, RTE selected the consortium of Hitachi Energy and Chantiers de l’Atlantique to deliver the offshore direct current platforms and associated onshore converter station infrastructure for the Normandy (Centre Manche 1 & 2) and Oléron offshore wind connections, including the Centre Manche 2 HVDC offshore converter platform. Chantiers de l’Atlantique, working with Hitachi Energy’s HVDC equipment, will provide the offshore platform structure and associated substation works for the Centre Manche 2 grid connection, forming part of the first generation of French offshore HVDC platforms.
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