France announced Monday the award of the country’s largest offshore wind farm to EDF, a project that is expected to be completed off the coast of Normandy by 2031. The “Centre Manche 1” wind farm will include up to 47 wind turbines and will have a capacity of one gigawatt (GW), which will make it possible to supply more than 1.5 million people per year, i.e. approximately half of the needs of the Normandy region. The project was awarded to a consortium composed of EDF Renewables and Canadian developer Maple Power, after a tender process launched two years ago.
The consortium offered a very competitive rate of less than 45 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) for future electricity, which won the contract over five other competitors. In addition to the price, the tender introduced criteria to strengthen the project’s impact on the local economy and the environment, including recycling of the blades, contribution to a biodiversity protection fund, use of local SMEs and participatory investment.
EDF Renewables is confident in its ability to make this infrastructure profitable at this price and is pleased to continue its trust-based collaboration with the Normandy region in support of the energy transition. However, France must accelerate its projects to reach its goal of 40 GW by 2050, which requires the implementation of a global planning of sites to get out of the piecemeal choice of parks. The consultation on the acceleration of the competition procedures and the evolution of the public support modalities is underway until June 12. Four major public debates are to be held this year to determine the positioning of future zones for each major maritime façade.
Currently, eight offshore wind farms are contracted out to operators, a sector largely dominated by EDF with five farms. Several projects are also underway, notably in the emerging technology of floating wind power, especially in the Mediterranean, but also in the 250 MW floating field in southern Brittany, for which the specifications are expected in April for an award scheduled for the end of 2023.
