Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie, has announced that its 30 MW floating wind farm Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) in the Mediterranean Sea has reached full capacity and entered commercial operation. The pilot project is expected to generate approximately 110,000 MWh of electricity each year.
The offshore wind company reported on July 10, 2026, that all three turbines, each with a capacity of 10 MW mounted on floating foundations, are now operating at full power. The farm is located 16 kilometers off the coast of southern France near Port-La Nouvelle.
Construction of the EFGL project began several years ago as a pilot to demonstrate the viability of floating wind technology in deep waters. According to Ocean Winds, the installation of floating foundations allowed the turbines to be placed in areas with seabed depths that would make fixed-bottom foundations uneconomical or technically impossible.
Floating turbines as a cornerstone of future energy mix
– Floating offshore wind farms will play a crucial role in the future energy mix, especially for countries with deep coastal waters like France – said Craig Windram, CEO of Ocean Winds. He added that the technology opens up vast new areas for wind power generation that were previously inaccessible.
The company underlined that the full commissioning of EFGL is an important milestone for the floating wind sector. The project was developed in partnership with Banque des Territoires, which co-financed the pilot farm. Ocean Winds highlighted that the lessons learned from EFGL will be applied to larger commercial floating projects currently being planned in the Mediterranean and other regions.
Local jobs and operational base
Since entering the operational phase, the EFGL farm has created over 20 local jobs at a dedicated operations and maintenance base built by Ocean Winds in the port city of Port-La Nouvelle. The base serves as the hub for monitoring and servicing the three turbines.
Ocean Winds noted that the local workforce undergoes specialized training to handle the unique challenges of floating turbine maintenance, including dynamic mooring systems and subsea cables. The company said it expects the number of local jobs to grow as more floating wind projects come online in the region.
The success of EFGL is being closely watched by the energy industry, as floating wind is seen as a key technology to unlock offshore wind potential in deep-water markets such as the Atlantic coast, the North Sea and the Mediterranean basin. Several countries are already planning large-scale floating wind tenders for the late 2020s and early 2030s.
Źródło: wnp.pl, Fot. Ocean Winds
