Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Site d'essais en mer de Centrale Nantes
on December 5, 2018
A project that brings together industry and academia: The three partners joined forces and committed their respective know-how. Centrale Nantes has contributed its expertise in ocean engineering and the design of an innovative anchoring system. A project strongly anchored in the local economy: 80% of tier 1 suppliers are French and almost 20 million euros in orders have been placed with French suppliers. First technology tested on the SEM-REV offshore test site: The wind turbine is installed 20km off the coast from Le Croisic on the Centrale Nantes SEM-REV test site, the first site dedicated to marine renewable energies and connected to the Enedis electricity grid. Floatgen is being tested for an initial period of 2 years, during which time the electricity generated is injected into the French grid. It produces the equivalent of the annual electrical consumption of 5000 people. The Floatgen project embodies the new generation of offshore wind: floating wind. It allows projects to be developed without depth constraints, i.e., far offshore, without visual impact and where the winds are the strongest. Floatgen bears witness to the reality of this emerging sector in France and the Pays de la Loire region. To date, only four such technologies are being tested around the world.