Principle Power has been awarded an operations and maintenance contract for the 30 MW Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) floating wind project in France.
The contract covers the project’s three WindFloat foundations, which support three Vestas V164-10 MW turbines – described as the most powerful currently operating on floating foundations.
EFGL is operated by Ocean Winds in partnership with la Banque des Territoires, and is located more than 16 km off the coast of Leucate and Le Barcarès in southern France.
Under the agreement, Principle Power will provide integrated inspection, maintenance and repair services, alongside remote monitoring, data analytics and engineering support. The company will use its Asset Hub application to enable real-time monitoring and automated insights intended to support the client’s operational decision-making.
Day-to-day operations will run from an O&M base at Port-La Nouvelle in Occitanie. Ocean Winds employs six local workers to maintain the platforms and ancillary equipment, including anchor lines and inter-array cables, while Vestas handles turbine inspection and maintenance. Principle Power has expanded its own O&M team in France, where it says nearly 30% of its global workforce is now based.
Jeremy de Barbarin, project director of EFGL at Ocean Winds, said: “This contract constitutes a strategic asset for EFGL and strengthens the long-standing relationship between Ocean Winds and Principle Power, which began over 15 years ago, with a six-year-long operating expertise build on Ocean Winds’ first floating windfarm 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic.
“Principle Power will deploy their proven expertise in floating foundation technologies to assist the Ocean Winds team in maximising system availability, reliability, and efficiency. This close collaboration in Operations & Maintenance builds on the work Principle Power has already accomplished during the project’s design, construction, and commissioning phases.”
Clara de Moura Santos, vice president of operation and maintenance at Principle Power, said: “This award builds on Principle Power’s operating track record in floating wind and reinforces our role as a provider of integrated O&M support and services.
“Working with the client, with Vestas, and with project partners, we applied our operational experience from the earliest design stages to address day-to-day asset management requirements and support long-term reliability.”
Principle Power has built its operating experience across three floating wind projects: the 2 MW WindFloat 1, the 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic and the 50 MW Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland.
With EFGL – Ocean Winds’ second operating floating wind farm – Principle Power now holds 105 MW of deployed capacity. The company said its WindFloat foundations have withstood waves of 20 metres and winds of up to 214 km/h, while delivering more than 1 TWh of energy to the grid since 2011.
EFGL was assigned by the French state through ADEME’s floating wind call for projects, part of the France 2030 investment programme, and will operate for 20 years. Principle Power said the contract supports the wider push toward commercial-scale floating wind in markets including France, the UK and South Korea.
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