Recently, Smulders, a Belgian subsidiary of China's Eiffage Group, officially signed an offshore wind power EPCIC general contracting contract with French transmission system operator RTE, with a total amount exceeding 1.5 billion euros (approximately 12.534 billion yuan). According to the contract agreement, the Chinese side will be responsible for designing and constructing three AC substations for three offshore wind farms in France, Bretagne Sud (AO5), Narbonnaise Sud-H é rault, and Golfe de Fos (AO6), as well as their future expansion project (A09).

The specific content of the contract includes the construction of the foundation and top module of the pipeline rack. Among them, the foundation of the Bretagne Sud project's pipeline rack is 35 meters long, 25 meters wide, and 115 meters high; The foundation of the Narbonnaise Sud-H é rault and Golfe de Fos project's jacket is 50 meters long, 45 meters wide, and approximately 110 meters high. The three top modules weigh approximately 5000 tons each, measuring 70 meters in length, 35 meters in width, and over 20 meters in height, setting a new industry record for construction scale.

The key components of these substations will be jointly manufactured by Smulders and its industrial partners in France and Europe. According to the production plan, the jacket will be assembled at the Eiffage Metal factory in Fos sur Mer, France, while the top module will be manufactured as a whole at the Vlissingen factory in the Netherlands.

It is reported that the installed capacity of each substation reaches 750MW, and the total capacity of the three substations will exceed 2GW. It is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2025. After the completion of the project, it will be able to deliver a large amount of clean electricity to the European power grid every year, significantly promoting the European energy transition process and making an important contribution to achieving the net zero carbon emissions target by 2050. This cooperation also demonstrates the technological strength and competitive advantage of Chinese enterprises in the global clean energy construction field. Editor/Yang Beihua