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Éole, the assembly platform for tomorrow's offshore wind turbines

Éole, the assembly platform for tomorrow's offshore wind turbines

Able to draw on its skills and experience in relation to fixed-foundation wind turbines with the Saint Nazaire offshore wind farm, Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port is looking to adapt its infrastructure to support the deployment of high-power offshore wind power with the Éole project. 

The Éole site will serve as an assembly platform for tomorrow's installed and floating wind turbines, and will be made available to the industry to store and assemble wind turbines for future wind farms along the Atlantic seaboard. The site will also be available to other industries in the region.

The ÉOLE Project : a Key Asset in the Deployment of Floating Wind Power Generation projet EOLE 

The Éole site is an assembly platform for installed and floating wind turbines. It will be used for the deployment of future offshore wind farms along the Atlantic seaboard. Located in Saint-Nazaire, on the industrial-port site that was the birthplace of the Saint-Nazaire wind farm, it will mainly comprise a 780 m quay, storage facilities for components on land and on the water, and a special pontoon for service vessels.

The Éole project aims to meet the needs of wind energy manufacturers and operators from 2030. It will benefit the region's industrial and economic fabric. In addition to wind energy, the Éole platform can be shared according to the timetable and deadlines of the port's manufacturers.

Markers about Eole Project

  • A 780 m quay to assemble the floating wind turbines (using a crane) and berth the jack-up vessels for the wind turbines, with the possibility of accommodating other industrial activities.
     
  • An onshore storage area for blades, mast sections, nacelles, turbines, tools and crane components, etc.
     
  • Storage facilities on the water for 8 wind turbine floats awaiting assembly.
     
  • A pontoon for service vessels to accommodate the tugs responsible for transporting the floating wind turbines, and any operating vessels.

On 20 February 2024, Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port referred the Éole project to the Commission Nationale du Débat Public (CNDP), which decided on 6 March 2024 to organise prior consultation under the aegis of guarantors. The terms and conditions and the consultation file were approved by the CNDP on 4 September 2024, at the suggestion of Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port. 
 

From 23 September to 23 November 2024, Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port is organising a preliminary consultation, under the aegis of the CNDP, to inform residents, local stakeholders and the industry, and involve them in the Éole project.

Take part in the preliminary consultation

You can find the consultation file and all the details on the participative platform dedicated to the project: participez.eole.port.fr
 

A number of events are planned betweennow and 23 November 2024: two public meetings (opening and closing), a cruise, three themed workshops, etc. You can find out more, contribute and register for upcoming meetings on the online platform.

Consult the preliminary consultation file
 

A CEI for the Use of the Éole Assembly Platform

To take this industrial and port-based project a step further and to drive the conditions for its success, Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port wishes to launch a call for expressions of interest (CEI) in order to question all the industrial players potentially interested, directly or indirectly, in an extraordinary infrastructure dedicated to the MRE sector, similar to that planned for the Éole project.

This phase is essential to the further expansion of the MRE sector. The aim of this initiative is therefore to generate interest and reactions from any company or group wishing to:

  • develop initiatives on the Loire Estuary with a view to engaging in industrial or logistics activities, particularly in the marine renewable energy (MRE) sector;
  • express the need for a "standard" infrastructure such as that planned for the Éole project (including real estate, quayside facilities, storage facilities on the body of water, a service pontoon, etc.) to develop its business on site;
  • launch projects relating to fixed-foundation or floating offshore wind farms or to other types of marine energy;
  • develop projects linked to existing activities in the Saint Nazaire industrial and port activity zone;
  • express their needs in relation to projects requiring proximity to the quayside or the use of the body of water for industrial and logistics activities;
  • develop and produce any other MRE-related opportunities or innovations.

The CEI dossier may be obtained in electronic form at the following address : ami-eole@nantes.port.fr .

Interested industrial players are advised to identify themselves when they obtain their CEI dossier, so that they can then receive any subsequent notifications concerning this call for expressions of interest, including any amendments or answers to questions from other industrial players who express an interest.

Each interested industrial player or grouping may express their interest by submitting the response dossier no later than 30th December 2024 at 12 p.m. (GMT +02:00), to the following address:
ami-eole@nantes.port.fr.

A Project Supported at Local, National and European Level

The ÉOLE project is an integral part of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port’s 2021-2026 strategic plan, and more particularly in terms of the aim of delivering successful energy and ecological transition. The Supervisory Board of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port has therefore given the go-ahead to the studies that are necessary for the project’s design.

The European Commission is contributing to the financing of the studies concerned within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme and ADEME, as part of the France 2030 study program.. Furthermore, the studies relating to the development of a dedicated infrastructure for floating wind power in Saint Nazaire are included in the Central Government − Pays de la Loire Regional Authority Planning Agreement.