Italy’s Prysmian has entered into a framework agreement with French transmission system operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) to supply submarine power cable connections. These cables will link two offshore wind farms to the French national grid.
According to the contract, Prysmian will handle the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCI) of the power cable links for both the Fos Project and the Narbonnaise Project. This includes both undersea and land segments.
The potential value of these two EPCI contracts is estimated to be around €700 million.
The projects are subject to call-off by RTE and the finalization of EPCI contract terms, anticipated to occur between 2026 and 2027. Subsequent delivery and commissioning are scheduled between 2031 and 2032.
Each project will feature three high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) 225 kV three-core export cables with XLPE insulation, all with synthetic armor protection.
Approximately 400 kilometers of land cables will be locally produced in Gron, France, while around 240 kilometers of submarine cables will be manufactured at Prysmian’s centers of excellence in Arco Felice, Italy, and Pikkala, Finland.
The installation will be executed using Prysmian’s proprietary cable-laying vessel.
The Fos Project, situated on the coast of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, will require about 300 kilometers of cables (both land and subsea). The Narbonnaise Project, on the Occitanie coast, will need approximately 340 kilometers of cables, each providing a capacity of 750 MW.
Recently, the French government pre-qualified twelve applicants for the AO9 tender, initiated in July 2024.
The tender introduces four new sites for offshore wind development: one off South Brittany, two in the Mediterranean, and one in the South Atlantic region of France.
In other Prysmian news, the company signed a collaboration agreement with TechnipFMC in November to merge their technologies and knowledge, aiming to provide a comprehensive water column solution for floating wind projects.
