France opens tenders for offshore wind projects worth 10 GW
The French energy ministry announced that it will open on Friday the long-awaited?tenders for 10 gigawatts worth of offshore wind project, mainly located on France's westcoast.
Some companies have scrapped their offshore wind development plans due to rising costs in some countries and political opposition, including that of the Trump administration.
The new projects will significantly increase France's capacity for offshore wind, which it aims to grow from under 2 GW to 15 GW in 2035. The new projects would also boost the European capacity which was just under 40 GW by 2025 according to industry group WindEurope.
The initial call for tenders in 2024 will be split into 5 GW fixed-bottom wind farms and 5GW floating wind farms.
The fixed-bottom wind farm uses turbines that are attached to foundations on the seabed. This is a more established technology and it's generally cheaper.
The floating wind farm places turbines on platforms that are anchored to the seabed. This allows projects to move deeper into the water, but adds costs due the complexity of the platforms, the mooring system and the installation work.
The companies will have four month to submit their bids for the development of projects. The winners will then be chosen in February 2027.
The French government would be able to complete the goals set out in the?Energy Planning Law, released late in February, before the next presidential elections in April if the winners were selected in early 2027.
The National Rally of the far right, which is opposed to offshore wind, has a good chance of reaching the second round in the presidential elections.
The operators will be guaranteed a price through contracts for differences. When market prices are low, the state covers the gap. Operators pay the difference when prices are high.
According to the Ministry, France wants to encourage maintenance work on turbines during low electricity prices in order to protect against negative prices due to an oversupply of renewable energy.
According to the ministry, wind turbines will be subjected to strict environmental regulations as well. The ministry has said that parts built outside Europe will be subject to strict environmental rules. Forrest Crellin, Susan Fenton and Susan Fenton edited the report.
(source: Reuters)
