Vattenfall, Skyborn Renewables (formerly wpd), and Banque des Territoires have jointly applied for the competitive bidding procedure for the Center Manche 2 (AO8) offshore wind project in Normandy, France.
Center Manche 2 has a capacity of 1,500 MW and is located in an area off Barfleur, near the 1.05 GW Centre Manche 1 (AO4) project, for which the alliance submitted an offer in November 2022. The result of this solicitation for Center Manche 1 is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
The two projects are scheduled to be commissioned by 2030.
The French government is expected to announce the candidates who have pre-qualified for the Center Manche 2 tender in early 2023.
Apart from the alliance of Vattenfall, Skyborn, and Banque des Territoires, the consortium of TotalEnergies and RWE is also in contention for both of the projects.
The alliance said that it has already entered into strategic partnerships demonstrating its desire to carry a long-term vision for the offshore wind power sector in Normandy, including the Charter of Commitment signed with the Normandie Maritime cluster in September 2021, and the Convention of Partnership signed with the cluster of local industrial subcontractors in June 2022.
The closeness of the alliance with players in Normandy was illustrated recently during of an event organized in Caen on November 14, on the sidelines of the Festival Les Boréales, during which some forty elected officials, representatives of associations, business and education clusters were brought together at the invitation of the alliance to thank them for their attentiveness and availability during these almost two years of preparation of the offer for the AO4 project.
”As we eagerly await the announcement of the future winner for the AO4 call for tenders off the coast of the Cotentin, it seems essential to us to confirm to the actors of the territory, through our candidacy for the AO8, that we are an alliance committed long term in Normandy,” said Yara Chakhtoura , Managing Director of Vattenfall Eolien and spokesperson for the alliance.