France has given approval for a 250 MW floating offshore wind project. The project will be located off Belle-Ile and Ile de Groix in the southern Brittany region. There is more floating offshore wind a capacity that is expected to come out soon. France plans to tender for two more 250 MW floating projects on the Mediterranean coast in Occitanie and the PACA region.
A public consultation for the 250 MW project was concluded in December 2020 and a report published in February. The tender for the wind project was floated earlier in May 2020. The scope of the work includes financing, development, project management, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the wind project. The bid submission deadline is 1 July 2021.
During the first phase, the regulator will pre-select candidates based on criteria including operating offshore infrastructure such as floating wind with over 20 MW capacity. In the second phase, a competitive dialogue between pre-selected candidates and the regulator, will start in September for around six months before the winner is selected.
In April 2020, France announced that will tender out up to 8.75 GW of offshore wind energy capacity from 2020 to 2028, as per the Multiannual Energy Programme. The programme also aims for an increase in the intended operating offshore wind power capacity from between 4.7 GW and 5.2GW by 2028, to between 5.2 GW and 6.2 GW by 2028. The 2023 operating capacity target is 2.4 GW.
