Vive Wind La France!

While Germany and the UK seem to get a lot of publicity about their ambitious goals for wind energy, France is determined not to be left behind.  The country plans to install 19,000 MW of wind farms onshore  and 6,000 MW in offshore farms within the next six years. But there has been a decline in onshore wind farms joining the grid since 2011 and this makes the target very challenging. Why? This is partly due to the increased costs of installation and a decline in investors willing to fund new wind farms. The latter is probably due to uncertainty about the purchase price of electricity by wind energy companies in France.

france wind farm 300x1891 Vive Wind La France!

Stakeholders in French wind energy are trying to address this issues. Despite  the onshore sector already having access to the equipment and knowledge necessary for its development, there have been delays due to legal issues For example, the Council of State (a committee which acts as a legal adviser to the executive branch of the French Government) is due to come to a decision on doing away with a tariff order that could fuel uncertainty.

Turning to French  offshore wind farms, work has begun on a large area (11 square kilometres spanning four coastlines) with associated harbour areas for the necessary infrastructure. The four sites are at  Fécamp (498 MW), Courseulles-sur-Mer (450 MW) and Saint-Nazaire (480 MW). The Saint-Brieuc site was awarded to Ailes Marines SAS.

Floating Offshore Wind Project INFLOW Kicked Off in France 300x2091 Vive Wind La France!

A second offshore tender began last year in 2013 for two new areas- one off the coast of Tréport and the second on the Plateau des Bœufs, off the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier with a total power at stake is 1,000 MW. The two wind farms are slated to become operational between 2021 and 2023.

So France now faces a race a challenging, but not impossible race against the clock to meet the deadlines that it has imposed for the wind sector. It would require a rapid resolution on a new tariff order to restore confidence to the sector. For the offshore sector, the projects already prepared in advance must take priority in order to support these goals.