SPIE assists with maintenance of France's first offshore wind farm in Saint-Nazaire

Cergy, 27 September 2023 – SPIE Industrie, a SPIE France subsidiary that helps industrial companies to overcome their energy transition and digital transformation challenges, will be providing electrical and mechanical maintenance for the offshore substation and the foundations for the 80 turbines at the offshore wind farm in Saint-Nazaire, France.

This new two-year contract entered into with EDF Renewables follows on from the support that SPIE Industrie's teams provided during the design, installation and onshore maintenance phases for France's first offshore wind farm. Those teams will continue to provide their expertise to support the development of low-carbon and renewable energy production in France. As the first French operator to specialise in the maintenance of electrical and mechanical systems for offshore wind turbines, SPIE Industrie is now playing a key role in the development of an entirely French industry sector focused on marine renewable energy.

SPIE Industrie, a French subsidiary of the SPIE group, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, has already successfully carried out onshore pre-maintenance work on the wind turbines at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm in the run-up to the installation of the turbines in 2022.

Under the terms of this new contract with EDF Renewables, SPIE Industrie's teams will be providing offshore preventive and corrective maintenance support for the electrical systems of the substation and the foundations of the 80 wind turbines at the wind farm over the next two years. The work performed by SPIE Industrie's technicians will include inspections, thermographic surveys and preventive and corrective maintenance on platforms and switchboards.

Fully local and sustainable maintenance — a source of long-term employment in Loire-Atlantique

With this project, SPIE Industrie is helping to create sustainable jobs in a sector where most new hires are placed on short-term contracts due to the seasonal nature of offshore wind turbine maintenance. Recruiting and training local technicians ensures that expert teams are on call to respond quickly to operations that are often complex. In addition, the operational carbon footprint is reduced as a result of deploying teams from the region because technicians are not required to travel far in order to work at the wind farm.

"Bolstered by our expertise in onshore wind power as well as offshore energy, and more generally in multi-technical maintenance, we are proud to be able to work alongside EDF Renewables on the offshore maintenance of France's first wind farm. Through this partnership, SPIE Industrie is contributing to the development of an entirely French renewable energy sector, and to France's energy independence — which presents a major challenge for the nation," states SPIE Industrie Department Manager, Xavier de Noblens.