TotalEnergies awarded a $5.3 billion contract by the French government for offshore wind

TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday that it had won a contract worth 4.5 billion euros ($5.30billion) from the French Government to build and develop a 1.5 gigawatt offshore wind farm in a consortium.

According to a press release, the French energy giant expects to take a final decision on investment in early 2029. Power production will begin in 2033.

Total has said that the project will cost 4.5 billion Euros, and the tariff is set at 66 euros per Megawatt-hour by the government.

Separately, the French government announced that the wind farm would generate six terawatt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to power 1 million homes.

TotalEnergies can now expand its renewables portfolio in France, which has been criticized for its slow administrative procedures compared to other countries like the UK and Germany.

The announcement of the concessions is a surprising move by France's outgoing Government, which collapsed in early this month due to disagreements over budget cuts. The energy sector was left in limbo, as the long-awaited law on energy planning failed to be passed before the collapse.

(source: Reuters)