France is gearing up to launch tenders for two fixed and three floating offshore wind farms, totalling 9.2GW, in the autumn and winter of 2024/25, Reuters has reported.
The French Energy Ministry has identified several locations for the projects, including offshore Fecamp in northwest France, offshore Brittany, the western Gascogne Gulf and the southern Mediterranean coast.
During a visit to Fecamp, French Energy Minister Olga Givernet informed reporters that the new installations are part of the country’s strategy to reach 45GW by 2050.
Givernet was quoted by the news agency: “This is a signal for the industrial value chain, to tell them it’s not the moment to de-localise, it’s not the moment to draw up layoff plans — it’s on this land that we need to build the wind turbines and then install them.”
The latest installations will contribute to the country’s goal of achieving 45GW by the year 2050.
In April 2024, French officials revealed intentions to initiate tenders for the installation of 240MW of solar power capacity along the nation’s highways.
The Regional Highways Division (DIR) identified 140 parking areas and 100 highway interchanges as potential locations for solar installations.
In September 2024, Iberdrola inaugurated the 496MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France, 16km offshore Brittany.
Developed with an investment of €2.4bn ($2.6bn), the project is now fully operational and capable of producing 2,000 gigawatt hours of clean energy each year.
The Saint-Brieuc facility is one of France’s most powerful offshore wind farms, equipped with 62 turbines, each with 8MW capacity.
