The French government is expected to make a decision in the next few days on whether or not to renegotiate subsidies for the country’s first offshore wind farms or even cancel the projects, according to the country’s renewables industry lobby group SER.
SER is concerned that the government is undermining investor confidence in the French offshore wind sector by its actions.
“It would seriously undermine the attractiveness of our territory for investors and generate major legal issues,” said SER president Jean-Louis Bal.
The six Round 1 and 2 projects are currently set to receive subsidies of between €180 and €230 a megawatt-hour, including grid connection.
However, France initiated talks to reduce the support after offshore wind tenders in some other European countries yielded zero-subsidy bids.
The proposals have already been rejected by the French Senate.
The EMF consortium is develoing the 480MW Saint-Nazaire project, as well as the 450MW Courseulles and 498MW Fécamp wind farms in cooperation with WPD, while the Iberdrola-led Ailes Marines group is constructing the 496MW Saint-Brieuc scheme. All four projects are scheduled to be up and running in 2023.
The Engie-led LEM consortium is developing the 496MW offshore Noirmoutier and Tréport wind farms, which are planned to come online in 2024.
D-Day for French subsidy row
By EBS