Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola has inaugurated the 496MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France, marking an investment of €2.4bn.
Located in Saint-Brieuc Bay, about 16km off the coast, the French offshore wind facility features 62 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 8MW.
The Saint-Brieuc project is expected to generate approximately 2,000GWh of electricity per year to provide clean and emission-free energy to nearly one million households in the country.
Iberdrola started the development of the offshore wind farm in 2012, and it became fully operational in 2024 after three years of construction.
According to the Spanish company, over 1,700 jobs were created during the construction phase of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, including 500 local positions, with more than 150 European companies involved in the project.
Major contributors included Siemens Gamesa for turbines, the Navantia Windar consortium for foundations, Haizea for towers, Prysmian for cabling, and Van Oord for installation.
The project is also claimed to have driven the offshore wind sector in France, with Siemens Gamesa producing turbines at a new facility in Le Havre and Navantia Windar assembling foundation components at the Port of Brest.
The Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm generated its first electricity in July last year. The initial power from the French offshore wind farm was connected to the country’s national electricity grid by its manager, Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE).
Iberdrola’s chairman Ignacio Galán said: “This project lays the foundations for the offshore wind sector in France and clearly demonstrates the potential that this technology has to boost energy security and the reindustrialisation of Europe, while contributing to climate objectives, in line with the Draghi report.”
The Saint-Brieuc project is said to be Iberdrola’s fourth operational offshore wind farm, joining West of Duddon Sands in the UK, Wikinger in Germany, and East Anglia One in the UK.
Iberdrola is also developing four additional offshore projects, with Baltic Eagle in Germany and Vineyard Wind 1 in the US set to commence in 2025, followed by East Anglia Three in the UK and Windanker in Germany in 2026.
The company has also secured seabed rights for future projects in the UK, continental Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan.
