The Dutch marine contractor Van Oord awarded German specialist foundation company Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH to install 190 bored piles at 62 locations for three-legged jackets, as well as one substation location consisting of a four-legged jacket foundation.

Van Oord will start the offshore operations in 2021 with the installation of the bored piles using its offshore installation vessel (OIV) Aeolus. The Aeolus will be assisted by a second vessel in 2022 to install jackets foundations with commercialisation due start in 2023.

Bauer Spezialtiefbau is going the provide and operate the drilling and grouting operations for the subsea operation, including the use of three newly designed Bauer DD 40 U Dive Drills, which will work simultaneously up to 47m penetration depth in a rock structure up to 160MPa and in a water depth of up to 37m.

Finally, onboard of OIV Aeolus Bauer will execute grouting operations to fix the 190 bored piles at the drilling location.

For Bauer Spezialtiefbau this project is a consequent development of the underwater drilling expertise gained over the last years and with the full support of the sister company Bauer Maschinen GmbH. The Dive Drill is designed for mixed soil and rock conditions and as a sustainable and environment friendly equipment. It is powered by electro-hydraulic energy supply - a next step in the reduction of the CO₂ footprint.

The Saint-Brieuc renewable energy project will be built on an area of 75km² and comprise 62 turbines with a capacity of 8MW each. In total, the wind farm, located approximately 16km off the French coast, will have a capacity of 496MW and will produce 1,820GWh per year - the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 people including heating.

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