Ocean Winds Reaches Full Power at French Floating Wind Farm

The floating offshore wind farm Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) has reached full power, marking the start of full operations for the 30 MW pilot project. Located 16 kilometers off the Occitanie coast in France, the site uses three 10 MW Vestas turbines mounted on semi-submersible floaters. Developed by Ocean Winds in partnership with Banque des Territoires, the farm is designed to generate approximately 110,000 MWh annually, providing clean energy for roughly 50,000 inhabitants over the next 20 years.

To support long-term operations, Ocean Winds established a maintenance base in Port-La Nouvelle. Principle Power recently secured an operations and maintenance support contract for the project, providing integrated services such as remote monitoring via its Asset Hub application, inspections, and engineering support. This agreement brings Principle Power's total deployed capacity using its WindFloat foundations to 105 MW.

The EFGL project is the first nature-inclusive floating wind farm worldwide, utilizing Biohut artificial marine habitats designed by Ecocean to protect biodiversity. Marc Hirt, Ocean Winds' Country Manager for France, stated that the project confirms the strategic role the Mediterranean can play in the next phase of offshore wind development.