Beginning in mid-May, Herrenknecht's Offshore Foundation Drilling (OFD) technology will be used in the construction of the 496MW Noirmoutier wind farm off the French Atlantic coast.The mechanised drilling method developed by Herrenknecht and Deme to install foundations for large-diameter monopiles was used for the first time at the St. Nazaire wind farm in 2021 and 2022. Offshore Foundation Drilling (OFD) makes it possible to safely install foundations for wind turbines and other coastal infrastructure even in rocky seabed. For the new wind farm, OFD will be used to drill boreholes for 61 monopiles in the rocky Atlantic seabed between the islands of Noirmoutier and Yeu. Each monopile has a diameter of 7 meters and will serve as the foundation for one of the more than 200-meter-high wind turbines. The monopiles for the Noirmoutier wind farm will be installed by Deme. Deme and Herrenknecht jointly developed the drilling and installation method and Herrenknecht supplies the drilling technology and provides specialised drilling personnel who are constantly on board the installation vessel in shifts during the project.
