BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH commissioned by Van Oord with bored pile work for the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm
Monday 6 July 2020
The Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm is the first large-scale offshore wind farm in Brittany and one of the first in France to receive all regulatory approvals for construction and operation. It will be built on an area of 75 km² and will consist of 62 turbines with a capacity of 8 MW each. The wind farm will have a total capacity of 496 MW. Around 16 km from the French coast, the wind farm will produce 1,820 GWh per year - this corresponds to the annual consumption of 835,000 people including heating output.
The Dutch company Van Oord has commissioned BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH with the production of 190 bored piles for the three-legged foundations of the turbines - so-called tripods - at 62 locations as well as for a transformer platform based on four piles. Van Oord will begin offshore construction in 2021 with the installation of the bored piles by the Aeolus offshore installation vessel (OIV). The Aeolus will be supported in 2022 by another ship that will set up the tripod foundations. Commissioning of the wind farm is planned for 2023.
BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH is responsible for the drilling and injection work as part of the underwater work. Three newly constructed BAUER Dive Drills DD 40 U are used, which work simultaneously and in a water depth of up to 37 m. In max. They drill 160 MPa hard rock up to 47 m deep. Bauer will also carry out injection work from the OIV Aeolus to anchor the 190 bored piles at the drilling points.
With this project, BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH is expanding its expertise in the field of underwater drilling acquired over the past few years with the full support of its sister company BAUER Maschinen GmbH. The Dive Drill is designed for working in mixed soils and rock and designed for sustainable and environmentally friendly operation. With its electro-hydraulic drive, it also contributes to the reduction of the CO 2 footprint.