The French offshore wind industry has called on Paris to boost the country’s targets for the sector for the next decade to over 7GW.
Industry association SER said at a press conference today that the government should hold more than 2.2GW of additional tenders, on top of those already proposed in a draft energy roadmap.
Under the roadmap 5.5GW is targeted but SER recommends the figure be increased to over 7.5GW.
The new capacity would include two addition auctions for 750MW of fixed offshore wind and three separate floating wind tenders.
The suggestions come as a counter-proposal to a ten-year energy roadmap recently published by Paris and were elaborated jointly with the sector’s other industry association FEE.
“We regret the insufficient volumes when it comes to offshore wind and the irregularity of the tenders in the government’s plans,” said SER president Jean-Louis Bal.
Draft government plans include tenders for between 2GW and 2.5GW of fixed and up to 1GW of floating offshore wind between 2020 and 2024.
The government then aims to put one 500MW – floating or fixed – on the market per year between 2025 and 2028.
The government’s plans are currently up for public discussion. They will need to be enshrined in law and voted through by Parliament. They could become effective by the autumn at the earliest.