Bourbon manages offshore wind installation in Portugal
Bourbon is deploying three vessels in the offshore wind farm (Source: Bourbon)
Marseille-based Bourbon Subsea Services has towed and connected the third 8.4-MW floating wind turbine for the Windfloat Atlantic offshore wind farm, sited in the Atlantic Ocean 20km off the Portuguese coast near Viano do Castelo. The company is managing the project, responsible for engineering of the 25-MW wind farm which will have the three most powerful floating turbines installed so far, the company said.
Bourbon is working for Windplus, a group of companies including EDP Renováveis, Engie, Repsol and Principle Power, together with partners Navantia/Windar, the A-Silva Matos group, MHI Vestas, JDR Cables and Vryhof.
The French company is deploying three vessels including the 2016-built Bourbon Orca, an anchor handling tug supply vessel, as well as a port tug and an ROV support vessel for laying electric cables. A team of 70 people will be engaged on the project, Bourbon said, demonstrating its expertise in towing, underwater robotics, positioning, cable laying and project managing.
Bourbon Subsea Services’ CEO, Patrick Belenfant, commented: “This last step in the WindFloat Atlantic project marks a turning point for floating wind power, which goes from the prototype to a pre-industrial stage. The successful completion of this project demonstrates the potential of floating wind turbines and is a source of pride for Bourbon, which is taking part in the development of renewable energies, drawing on years of experience and professionalism at sea.”
In 2019, Bourbon’s revenues totalled more than EUR 720 million and the company operated a fleet of 458 vessels.
