Jan De Nul and Hellenic Cables Secure Agreement to Supply and Install Export Cables for French Offshore Wind Farms

Jan De Nul, in partnership with Hellenic Cables, has been awarded a framework agreement from France’s transmission system operator (TSO) Réseau Transport d’Electricité (RTE) to supply and install the export cables for two floating wind farms off the coast of Southern Brittany, totaling 750 MW.

Jan De Nul and Hellenic Cables will execute these projects under an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract with RTE to be finalized during the period 2025-2026.

Jan De Nul will install cables that will transport the renewable energy from France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farms from the offshore substation to shore. Together with Greece’s Hellenic Cables, the company is responsible for the design, manufacturing, and protection of three high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) 225 kV cable systems, which together span some 150 kilometers.

In addition to transport and installation, Jan De Nul will embed the cables in the seabed.

Hellenic Cables will supply 390 kilometers of 225 kV export cables, split into 150 kilometers of offshore cables and 240 kilometers of onshore cables. The submarine cables will be produced at the Hellenic Cable’s expanded facility in Corinth, Greece, with delivery expected between 2028 and 2030, while the land cables will be manufactured at the company’s land cable facility in Thiva, Greece.

“In particular, this current frame agreement will result in an EPCI contract to support two floating wind farm developments. Following the frame agreement we have in place since 2023 for TenneT’s 2 GW program, this marks our second important framework agreement. RTE is the third Transmission System Operator in our portfolio, along with TenneT and Elia,” said Wouter Vermeersch, Manager of Offshore Cables at Jan De Nul Group.

Significant Wind Farm Developments in France

In May 2024, Belgium-based Elicio and BayWa r.e. won the AO5 tender to develop and operate the country’s first floating offshore wind farm, the 250 MW Pennavel project, off the south coast of Brittany. The project is expected to generate approximately 30% of Brittany’s current renewable energy production and power over 450,000 inhabitants annually.

Recently, the French government pre-qualified twelve candidates for the AO9 tender, which offers four new sites for offshore wind development, including one off South Brittany.