Siemens Gamesa starts construction of its offshore wind turbine plant in Le HavreCLAIRE GARNIER Usine Nouvelle 02/06/2020
GOOD NEWS With two firm orders for the offshore wind farms of Saint Brieuc and Fécamp, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is starting the construction of its offshore wind plant in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime). The plant will produce blades and nacelles under the same roof. Model of the Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy factory in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) © Siemens Gamesa Renewable EnergyNew step for the world leader in offshore wind power which is anchored in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime). Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will start "in the coming weeks" in Le Havre with the construction of its plant for manufacturing blades and assembling wind turbine nacelles at sea, said on June 2 Filippo Cimitan, CEO France of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, during a press conference call.
"This is our first combined production site, which will produce both blades and nacelles" underlined the manager, without specifying the amount of the investment represented by the plant. The construction phase should be 16 to 18 months for commissioning announced for late 2021 / early 2022. The plant should employ 750 people, between employees of Siemens Gamesa France and its subcontractors.
The construction phase is considered tight due to the nature of the site itself - port site - and the major foundation campaign that will have to be carried out to establish an 80 m² building. "It's a tight but controlled schedule" added June Filippo Cimitan, recalling that his group has already built or launched the construction of four factories in five years, namely Hull in Great Britain (000), Cuxhaven in Germany (2016), Tangier in Morocco (2017)… and Le Havre.
Vinci Construction at workA group of companies led by GTM Normandie-Center, a subsidiary of Vinci Construction, was selected by Siemens Gamesa to build this factory. Group that includes companies specializing in foundations. GTM anticipates that the site will employ between 350 and 400 people during peak periods. According to Christophe Quardel, regional director of GTM Normandie Center, the work has already started. "Our shovels and our machines are on site. We will have to anchor the building in depths of up to 35 meters," he said. For its part, the port of Le Havre has committed 123 million euros in the preparation of the land that will accommodate the factory and the development of a specific quay that can accommodate heavy loads.
These are the two firm orders received at the end of May which lead Siemens Gamesa to give the start of the construction of its Le Havre factory, the consortium order led by Iberdrola for the Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) wind farm and that of the consortium led by EDF for the Fécamp park (Seine-Maritime).
For Saint Brieuc, Siemens Gamesa must supply 62 7 MW wind turbines (a nominal power of 497 MW) with a 10-year maintenance contract; for Fécamp, the turbine manufacturer must supply 71 7 MW wind turbines (a nominal power of 497 MW) with a fifteen-year maintenance contract.
A "flexible" factoryIn total, Siemens Gamesa was awarded the supply of five of the first six wind farms of the French State's first call for tenders in offshore wind power. In addition to those of Saint-Brieuc and Fécamp, Siemens must also build those of Courseulles (Calvados) by EDF and those of Dieppe / Le Tréport (Seine-Maritime) and Yeu / Noirmoutier (Vendée) by Engie. For the latter, "we have been selected as suppliers, but we have not yet received a firm order," said Filippo Cimitan. He specifies that while the Le Havre plant is intended to "serve the French domestic market as a priority, it is not exclusively dedicated to the French market".
It will not only produce wind turbines of 7 and 8 MW. "It's a flexible factory" underlines the manager, specifying that "the products do not stop evolving". Siemens Gamesa has also just launched a 14 MW model, the most powerful on the market, with blades 108 meters long. Asked by Usine Nouvelle on whether the Le Havre plant could build this model, Filippo Cimitan replied: "we can imagine that it produces the 14 MW turbine".