So far, it has been a drop in the ocean, so to speak. After a decade of waiting, France only has three offshore wind farms in operation. But the industrial sector of this renewable energy hopes to build some more. “around fifty” by mid-century, according to Emmanuel Macron’s presidential objective, in 2022.
Off the coast of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) and Fécamp (Seine-Maritime), the first EDF wind farms have been fully operational since 2022 for one and since June for the other. The one owned by the Spanish company Iberdrola, with 62 wind turbines located at least 16 kilometres off the coast of Saint-Brieuc, has been operating at full capacity since May. Its inauguration will take place on Thursday 19 September.
Far from the coast, with stronger and more regular winds, offshore wind turbines promise better performance than land-based ones. Their deployment and distribution across the country still needs to be organised. Facade by façade, the responsibility lies with the State, which owns the project in this area.
The main challenge is to determine the future mapping of offshore wind energy. With these three parks already in operation, the country currently has 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity. This is still little compared to what the “Offshore Wind Pact between the State and industry” aims to achieve: reaching 18 GW in 2035, then 45 GW in 2050 and, therefore, exceeding the capacity of onshore wind turbines. “The Netherlands and Germany have even higher goals than France, in maritime spaces smaller than ours”, Pierre Peysson underlines, President of the Offshore Wind Energy Commission of the Renewable Energy Union (SER), a professional organisation.
Ten more parks identified
It is up to the public authorities to appoint a company to develop projects. Whether or not they are grouped together, the tenders are previously examined by an independent administrative authority, the Energy Regulatory Commission. In addition to the three parks in operation, the State has already identified ten others: six have been assigned and four are yet to be assigned. That is, a total capacity of 10 GW.
The most difficult part remains: the tenth tender (“AO10”) should represent on its own… around 10 GW. A volume of unprecedented magnitude, which requires coordinating a multitude of projects on the four coasts of the country. It was initially said to be launched in 2025, before being postponed until 2026. “There is no more time to waste”Peysson from SER now gives his opinion.
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