The French government has cleared Iberdrola-led offshore wind development consortium Ailes Marines to switch turbines for its 498MW Saint Brieuc project in the Atlantic Ocean, from the 8MW Adwen AD8-180 to the same-nameplate Siemens Gamesa D8 model.

The change, approved by Nicolas Hulot, the minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, was necessitated by Siemens Gamesa’s electing during its ongoing merger consolidation process to halt development of the Adwen design.