France to bet on floating wind farms in massive tender

France will launch tenders in early 2025 for the construction of more than 9 GW of offshore wind farms. Around 60% of the capacity sought, or three of the five wind farms, are to use floating wind turbines. International news outlet Reuters reported.

France plans to launch tenders in early 2025 for the construction of five offshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 9.2 GW. The new plants are intended to bring the country closer to meeting its target of adding 45 GW of installed capacity from these sources by 2050, Energy Minister Olga Givernet said.

As international news outlet Montel reported in the middle of last week, most of the capacity sought, or three of the five new wind farms, are to use floating wind technology. France Renouvelables had warned against this decision, saying it would be more sensible for 70% of the capacity to come from conventional fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines and only 30% from floating turbines.

"Floating wind technology will inevitably entail greater risk because it is less mature," said Michel Gioria, chairman of France Renouvelables.

However, according to Montel, the depth of the waters off France's Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, where the new wind farms are to be built, rules out the use of fixed-bottom wind turbines.

For context, the deepest fixed-bottom wind turbine installed to date was placed in waters 58.6 metres deep. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), however, around 80% of the world's offshore wind energy potential is in waters deeper than 60 metres.

The United Kingdom is also focusing on floating wind farms

The total installed capacity of floating wind farms in Europe is only 208 MW, according to international news outlet Montel. The technology is therefore still waiting for a more substantial rollout to get under way.

The main reason these plants are being installed and further developed is simple: with no obstacles in the way, wind speeds and flows offshore, farther from land, are higher and more stable than onshore.

Alongside France, the United Kingdom has also focused on developing the use of this technology. In early September, it awarded a contract for difference to the Green Volt floating wind farm project, which is expected to include up to 35 floating wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 560 MW. The contract covers 400 MW of installed capacity at a strike price of £139.93 per megawatt-hour. The wind farm is expected to begin operating in 2029.

According to WindEurope, the total installed capacity of these sources in Europe could reach 2,000 MW by 2030, with almost 1,500 MW of that expected to be in the United Kingdom.