France at the Forefront of Offshore Wind Energy: 250 MW Park Awarded
By 2030, Europe could have up to 3 GW of floating wind energy, but challenges remain. Italy and Portugal are lagging behind other EU countries.
The French Minister Delegate for Energy has announced the results of the auction for the 250 MW offshore wind farm located off the southern coast of Brittany.
This event marks a historic moment, as it is the first time a country has organized a commercial-scale auction to allocate a feed-in tariff for a floating offshore wind farm.
The announcement coincided with the inauguration of France's second fixed-bottom offshore wind farm in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime.
Offshore Wind: The 250 MW Park Will Be the Largest in Europe
Floating offshore wind energy is crucial for exploiting offshore sites with water depths of 60 meters or more, where floating turbines are more cost-competitive than fixed-bottom ones.
This type of energy is key to the development of offshore wind in many maritime regions, such as the Atlantic, Celtic Sea, Mediterranean, and Norwegian Sea. The 250 MW wind farm awarded in the French auction will be the largest floating wind farm in Europe, doubling the continent's current capacity.
The auction was won by a consortium formed by BayWare and Elicio, which prevailed over nine other consortia, indicating growing interest in the development of floating offshore wind energy. The winning bid was €86/MWh.
To date, only small demonstrative and pilot projects have been realized in Europe, totaling just over 200 MW, such as Kincardine and Hywind Scotland in the UK (30 MW each), WindFloat Atlantic in Portugal (25 MW), and Hywind Tampen in Norway (95 MW). All these projects have benefited from public financial support.
Offshore Wind: Italy and Portugal Lag Behind
The Southern Brittany auction is the first commercial-scale auction with public financial support in Europe. Other auctions are planned: in December, France will announce the winners of two additional 250 MW sites in the Mediterranean.
Spain, Portugal, Norway, Greece, and Italy are also preparing their first floating wind auctions. The UK has auctioned marine spaces for over 15 GW of floating projects and has just launched a new leasing round for 4.5 GW of offshore wind.
By 2030, Europe could have up to 3 GW of floating wind energy, but challenges remain. Norway has postponed its first floating tender for the 1.5 GW Utsira site. Spain is consulting on an offshore wind law, delaying its first auction. Italy has not yet approved the FER2 decree, which will set the auction calendar, and the change of government in Portugal has postponed the first auctions.
According to Pierre Tardieu, “The French announcement is positive, but other countries risk falling behind their stated ambitions for offshore wind energy. To reach 3 GW of capacity by 2030, it is essential that the relevant auctions are completed by 2025.”
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