RTE finalised the EolMed export grid connection by completing and commissioning the submarine and underground cables that link the pilot floating wind farm to the French transmission grid, including burial of a 24 km offshore cable to 2 m depth and an 860‑metre horizontal directional drill that connected the export cable at landfall to the onshore substation near Gruissan.
Prysmian and RTE completed the EPCI scope for the Gruissan/EOLMED export cable system, including the design, supply, installation, termination, testing, and commissioning of a 66 kV static three‑core submarine export cable of about 23 km and a 66 kV dynamic submarine export tail linking the onshore grid to the floating electrical hub of the 30 MW EolMed floating wind farm offshore Gruissan, France.
In October 2023, the Floating Electrical Hub (FEH) for the EolMed project—manufactured in Limassol by Bourbon and Pine—was towed across the Mediterranean and installed off Port-La Nouvelle and Gruissan. The FEH was moored in position as the floating electrical substation that links the three floating turbines on one side to the shore connection cable on the other, enabling future export of electricity to the grid.
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EolMed Export is the HVAC export connection that links the 30 MW EolMed floating wind farm (three Vestas 10 MW turbines on BW Ideol damping-pool floaters) to the French mainland grid. The cable system was delivered under an EPCI contract awarded to Prysmian by the French transmission system opera...
Owners
EolMed export cable, Gruissan/EolMed floating wind farm export cable, Gruissan Floating Offshore Windfarm Connection, EolMed 66 kV export connection
In 2022, Bourbon Subsea Services signed an EPCI contract for the EolMed pilot floating wind project covering the Floating Electrical Hub (FEH), the inter-array cables, and the anchoring and mooring systems. Under this contract Bourbon is responsible for delivering the FEH, which functions as the floating electrical substation connecting the three turbines to the export cable that routes power to the onshore grid.
RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Électricité) awarded a contract worth about EUR 30 million to a consortium led by Prysmian Group to develop the EolMed (Gruissan) export submarine power cable system, appointing Prysmian as supplier for a 66 kV three-core export submarine cable of around 25 km plus a 1 km 66 kV dynamic cable and 3 km of onshore 66 kV cables connecting the floating wind farm to the French grid.
The EolMed pilot floating wind farm offshore Gruissan, including its export cable and grid connection works, was reported as fully consented in February 2021, providing the necessary planning and development approvals for construction to proceed.
On 6 February 2019, France’s Environmental Authority within the General Commission for Sustainable Development issued a positive opinion on Qair’s Environmental Impact Study for the EolMed pilot floating wind farm, describing the impact study as comprehensive and of excellent quality and highlighting areas for further knowledge, thereby validating the environmental basis for the project and its grid connection infrastructure.
In 2017, the French National Public Debate Commission (CNDP) carried out a dedicated public consultation for the EolMed pilot project, enabling stakeholders to provide feedback and helping shape the project’s design and permitting, including its offshore export cable and grid connection elements.
Between 2014 and 2015, the French government conducted a public consultation on floating offshore wind in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, which led to the identification of four suitable zones for pilot floating wind farms, including the area later used by the EolMed project and its export grid connection offshore Gruissan.
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