Following the award of Saint Nazaire, load-out and installation, GE Renewable Energy has selected Global Wind Service for 50 percent of the service and maintenance scope at the French offshore wind farm.
The Service and Maintenance tasks will run throughout 2022 and 2023, where GWS teams will perform planned maintenance, including brake-in and annual maintenance along with corrective maintenance tasks such as troubleshooting and unplanned service.
“We have a long track record, working with GE Renewable Energy. Not only on installation projects but also when it comes to various service and maintenance projects in many countries. I am, therefore, very thrilled that we have been chosen as a partner for this great and important project for offshore wind in France.” Said Thorsten Helweg Service & Maintenance Director at Global Wind Service.
Last month GWS announced the opening of a new business unit in France to support our clients and the French wind market. This follows the recent award of the load-out and installation of the 80-turbine Saint Nazaire offshore wind farm – the first offshore wind farm in France.
Being part of the offshore wind development in France is a clear part of GWS’ strategy to be number one in offshore wind installation and service globally.
“As said before, Global Wind Service has a very strong growth ambition. That, combined with the ambitious targets for French wind power development looking towards 2030 and even towards 2050 makes France a natural next step for us in terms of expansion.
Not long ago President Emmanuel Macron announced that France intends to build around 40GW of offshore wind by 2050. Adding to this comes onshore wind and need for re-powering of aging turbines.
All of this makes France an attractive market for both GWS and our clients, and it gives a solid baseline to invest in a local organization to ensure close proximity to our clients and to further strengthen our relations” said Michael Høj Olsen, CEO of Global Wind Service.
According to the 2030 National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), submitted in 2021, France has a target of 33% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030 – a 10% increase. As such, the country’s goal is to increase onshore installed capacity from 16.6GW (in 2019) to 37.7 GW and increase offshore installed capacity from 0.002GW (in 2019) to 7.4GW by 2030.
