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France and China push the boundaries of offshore wind as UK trade body advises caution on work safety
18/6/2025
News
France has debuted its first floating offshore wind farm and China is testing what is claimed to be the world’s largest offshore wind turbine. Meanwhile, unprecedented growth in the global offshore wind sector is reported to have been accompanied by a rise in injury rates.
Offshore floating wind farm firsts for France
France’s first offshore floating wind farm, the 25 MW Provence Grand Large, has come onstream. Located off the Gulf of Fos in southern France, the project is being developed by EDF Renewables and Enbridge Éolien France 2 (EEF2), a subsidiary of Enbridge and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).
Reported to the first operational floating wind farm in the Mediterranean as well as France, the pilot project comprises three floating wind turbines installed 17 km off the coast of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.
Built by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, the wind farm’s three turbines are installed on floats with taut anchor lines inspired by a technology used to stabilise oil platforms. Developed by SBM Offshore and IFP Energies Nouvelles, the anchoring system is said to be suitable for deepsea areas and offers ‘excellent float stability’. The adaptation for offshore wind turbine floats is a ‘world first’, says EDF Renewables.
Bernard Fontana, Chairman and CEO of EDF, comments: ‘By helping to diversify our renewable energy sources, this pilot farm is actively participating in France’s energy transition, while supporting the emergence of a cutting-edge industrial sector in these innovative technologies.’
The company is planning to construct a second floating offshore wind farm, Méditerranée Grand Large.
Meanwhile, Ocean Winds has celebrated its own French floating first at Port-La Nouvelle in southern France. It has completed assembly of the first wind turbine destined for its Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) floating offshore wind project, which is being developed in a partnership with Banque des Territoires.
The 10 MW Vestas turbine is reported to be the most powerful to be installed in France to date. It has been mounted on its floating foundation at the dedicated offshore wind terminal developed by the region of Occitanie. Two more turbines will be completed in the weeks ahead, before being towed 16 km off the coast of Leucate and Barcarès for installation at sea.
Beyond its demonstration role, EFGL is expected to deliver valuable technical, operational and environmental insights to inform the next generation of floating offshore wind farms in the Mediterranean, including the Eoliennes Flottantes d’Occitanie (EFLO) 250 MW floating offshore wind project, currently in its early stage of development, reports Ocean Winds.
The company recently installed the first turbine at its Éoliennes en Mer des Îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN) fixed-bottom offshore wind farm, one of four currently in construction or development.
China testing ‘world’s largest’ offshore wind turbine
On the other side of the globe, China’s Dongfang Electric Company (DEC) is reported to be currently testing ‘the world’s largest offshore wind turbine’ in preparation for service. Although DEC has not disclosed the where the turbine will ultimately deployed, Offshore magazine suggests it could be sited at the Fujian offshore wind farm in the Taiwan Strait, which already hosts what is currently the world’s largest operating turbine at 16 MW. That turbine, owned by China Three Gorges Corporation, is 152 meters tall, with each blade measuring123 meters in length.
According to DEC, its new 26 MW offshore wind turbine is the world’s largest in terms of single-unit capacity and rotor diameter, and is domestically-produced. Rolling off the production line at the Fujian Fuzhou Offshore Wind Power Industrial Park late last year, the turbine’s blades are reported to be nearly 150 metres long, and the rotor diameter over 310 metres. The turbine has also been built to withstand ‘super typhoons’ up to Level 17. DEC also reports that it has improved the wind turbine’s overall power generation by more than 2% with two innovations. They are overcoming aerodynamic and structural coupling challenges for the blades and using advanced three-level full-power converter technology.
With a hub height of 185 meters – equivalent to a 63-story skyscraper – the single 26 MW turbine can potentially generate 100 GWh of clean electricity each year when operating with wind speeds of 10 m/s. That is enough electricity to meet the needs of 55,000 households, saving over 30,000 t/y of standard coal and reducing CO2 emissions by over 80,000 tonnes, reports the company.
Unprecedented growth in offshore wind accompanied by a rise in injury rates
The G+ global offshore wind health and safety organisation, based at the Energy Institute, has published its latest Incident Data Report. It documents a year of unprecedented growth for the industry, with 79 million work hours reported – a 27% increase on 2023. This expansion was accompanied by a rise in both the total recordable injury rate (TRIR), up 7% to 2.93, and the lost time injury frequency (LTIF), which increased by 19% to 1.27.
Tragically, the industry also recorded a fatality in 2024, underscoring the ongoing challenges in maintaining safety as the sector scales up. The incident involved a worker fatally injured during disassembly work on a monopile up-ending tool, during which a second worker was hospitalised.
In other findings, incidents from jack-up vessels/barges increased 42% from 2023, and now account for 14% of all injuries. Development sites saw the highest number of injury incidents reported to date, with a 75% increase year-on-year. Manual handling remains the leading cause of injuries, with 121 incidents reported.
The report includes member data for two new countries – Finland and India – adding to the reporting covering elsewhere in Europe, Asia, Australia and the US. G+ has also introduced preliminary analysis of injury nature and body part affected, paving the way for more granular reporting in 2025.
Commenting on the report, G+ Chair and Senior Vice President QHSE at Ørsted, Lisbeth Frømling, said: ‘The continued growth of the offshore wind sector is a testament to our industry’s commitment to the energy transition, but it also brings new and evolving risks. The increase in high potential incidents and the tragic fatality this year remind us that we must never be complacent… Transparency and learning from our shared data are at the heart of G+’s mission to drive continuous improvement in health and safety. I urge all industry stakeholders to engage with this report, reflect on its findings, and work collaboratively to ensure that every worker returns home safely.’
Energy Institute Chief Executive Nick Wayth CEng FEI added: ‘As the sector continues to expand globally, it is essential that safety standards keep pace. The Energy Institute and G+ remain committed to working with the wider industry to foster an ever-strengthened culture of safety and continuous learning.’
The latest report is based on reports from G+ members including BP, Corio Generation, EDF Renewables, Equinor, Iberdrola, Ocean Winds, Ørsted, RWE, Siemens Gamesa, SSE, TotalEnergies, Vattenfall and Vestas.
