France Greenlights 8.75 GW Offshore Wind Target

France will put up to 8.75 GW of offshore wind capacity out to tender from 2020 to 2028, the Multiannual Energy Programme (Programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie (PPE)) shows.

The new PPE has entered into force on Thursday, 23 April.

As proposed earlier, the PPE also increases the intended operating offshore wind capacity from between 4.7GW and 5.2GW by 2028, to between 5.2GW and 6.2GW by 2028. The 2023 operating capacity target is 2.4GW.

With the six already approved projects, the 600 MW Dunkirk tender held in 2019, and the four demonstration floating wind projects under development, France will have up to around 12.4 GW of fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind capacity either in operation or under development by the end of 2028.

The first tender will take place this year and it will be for a 1 GW project in the Manche Est Mer du Nord.

2021 and 2022 will see three 250 MW floating wind tenders in Brittany and the Mediterranean, and one fixed-bottom tender for a capacity between 500 MW and 1 GW. This wind farm will be situated in the South Atlantic.

France will organise a tender for a 1 GW fixed-bottom wind project in 2023. The location of this project has not been determined yet.

From 2024 onward, France will tender 1 GW per year of either fixed-bottom or floating wind capacity, depending on the cost.

Currently, France has 2 MW of offshore wind capacity in operation.