Saint-Brieuc Export
OperationalOffshore GridFR496 MW225 kV126.5 km2023
Basic information
9 fieldsAlso Known As
Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm grid connection · Saint-Brieuc 225 kV export cables · RTE Saint-Brieuc export link
Status
operational
Capacity
496 MW
Project Company
Type
offshore grid
Transmission Model
TSO Build & Own
Expected Life
40 years
Website
Supply Chain (1)
Project Timeline (8)
Q1 2024Commercial Operations Full Power
The Bay of Saint-Brieuc project’s full commissioning was expected to continue through the first quarter of 2024, indicating that RTE’s Saint-Brieuc export link—two 225 kV export cables to Caroual beach and a 225 kV onshore connection to Doberie substation—would reach full commercial operation by the end of that period. Once commissioning concluded, the export system enabled the wind farm to operate at full capacity and reliably evacuate 496 MW of offshore wind power into the French transmission grid.
Jul 2023First Power
First power from the Bay of Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm was produced in July 2023, implying initial energisation and power flow through RTE’s 225 kV export system comprising two submarine cables to Caroual beach (Erquy) and a 225 kV land link to the Doberie substation at Hénansal. This marked the first export of electricity via the Saint-Brieuc grid connection from the offshore substation into the French transmission network in Brittany.
~Jan 2023Cable Installation Complete
Installation and protection works for the Saint-Brieuc grid connection’s two 225 kV export cables, totaling 67 km offshore between the offshore substation and the route to the La Doberie onshore substation, were completed at the start of 2023 following offshore installation from Nexans’ Skagerrak vessel and subsequent protection operations.
2022Cable Installation Start
Offshore construction for the Saint-Brieuc export system started in 2022, when offshore operations commenced to install the two 225 kV export cables totaling 67 km at sea from the offshore substation towards shore, using Nexans’ cable-laying vessel Skagerrak under Marine Warranty Survey oversight by Waves Group.
~Jan 2022Onshore Construction Start
Over winter 2021–2022, onshore construction for the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm grid connection began with preparation works at the landfall, where Waves Group, acting as Marine Warranty Surveyor for RTE, oversaw Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) from the landfall transition bays towards the beach and the installation and burial of HDPE pipes to allow the two 225 kV export cables to pass safely under the shoreline en route to the La Doberie onshore substation.
2021Procurement Other
In 2021, RTE awarded Waves Group the Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) services contract for the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm grid connection, covering verification and oversight of the installation of two 225 kV export cables totaling 67 km at sea that link the offshore substation to the La Doberie onshore substation, with associated preparatory works over winter 2021–2022 and offshore installation operations starting in 2022.
Sept 2020Substation Supplier Selected
In September 2020, French companies Eiffage Metal and ENGIE Solutions were awarded the contract to construct the Saint-Brieuc project’s electrical substation, a key part of the grid connection system linking the offshore wind farm in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc to the French transmission network.
20 Nov 2019Cable Supplier Selected
On 20 November 2019, French transmission system operator RTE awarded Nexans a €115 million contract to design, supply and install the Saint-Brieuc grid connection’s 225 kV export cable system, comprising 67 km of offshore three-core submarine cables and 93 km of onshore single-core land cables, with integrated fibre optics and inspection, maintenance and repair services; the submarine cables are to be manufactured at Nexans’ Halden facility and installed by its cable-laying vessel CS Skagerrak using the Capjet trenching system, while the land cables are supplied from Charleroi.