The French government has confirmed it will hold a tender for a 1GW offshore wind farm in the Sud Atlantique zone this year.
Paris took the decision after mulling over feedback from a recent public consolation phase.
The wind farm could be reduced to 800MW during the competitive dialogue, officials added.
RTE, the grid operator, will also be charged with providing a connection for the wind farm, which is located in a 180 square kilometre area off the west coast.
No timeline for when a winning developer will be chosen has been revealed.
Paris said it will follow up the auction with a second 1GW offer at a later date.
The second farm is located within the 250 square kilmoetre area nearby, also outside the Marine Nature Park of the Gironde estuary and the sea of Pertuis.
“The surface areas of the areas selected for the bidding procedures relating to the two parks will be gradually reduced during these procedures, taking into account the results of the technical and environmental studies which will be carried out there or are already carried out by the State and RTE,” added an official decision by the government.
“The Directorate General for Armaments of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, in charge of missile testing, will conduct additional iterative studies to assess the conditions for the installation of wind turbines in the areas.”