January 21, 2020, by Adnan Durakovic

France has increased its offshore wind tendering target from up to 6GW to up to 8.75GW by 2028, the latest version of the Multiannual Energy Programme (Programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie (PPE)) shows.

The revised PPE, which is now open for public consultation, also increases the intended operating offshore wind capacity from between 4.7GW and 5.2GW by 2028, to between 5.2GW and 6.2GW by 2028.

The 2023 capacity target stayed at 2.4GW, covering the six already approved projects.

Compared to the earlier proposal, which included the 600MW Dunkirk tender, France has added a tender for one more 250MW floating wind tender in the Mediterranean in 2022, as well as one fixed foundation tender of between 500MW and 1GW to be carried out in 2021 or 2022.

It has been suggested that this fixed foundation tender will be reserved for projects off Oléron.

Another major change is the increase in the proposed annual tendering capacity from 2024 to 2028 from 500MW to 1GW.

This move was announced last year after the results of the Dunkirk tender showed that offshore wind is cheaper and more competitive than expected.

France plans to cover 33% of its gross energy consumption with renewable energy by 2030.