French President Emmanuel Macron has visited the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm as part of its official opening.
The wind park announced the visit in a Tweet on its official Twitter page. The French president was taken on a boat to visit the wind farm, based 12km off the French coast in the Atlantic Ocean.
At present, the 480MW wind farm, France’s first, has 27 wind turbines, with this set to rise to 80.
The park is owned by Parc du Banc de Guérande, a subsidiary of Eolien Maritime France (EMF), and is also a 50/50 joint venture between EDF Renewables and Enbridge.
The visit comes as President Macron plans to unveil a plan to boost France’s renewable energy output as Europe faces an ongoing energy crisis in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to statistics from the European Commission, France is the only European country that underperformed its 2020 renewable energy target. It produced 19.1% of its energy consumption from renewables that year, lagging the EU average of 22.1%.
As such, Macron’s plan aims to help France achieve energy independence. A bill will go before the cabinet next week.
France is currently targeting building 50 offshore wind farms by 2050.