France at Risk of Missing Offshore Wind Installation Targets, Research Shows

France is currently on course to miss its offshore wind installation target unless permitting and a more favourable investment climate is created, a new research claims.

The Institute for Energy Economics for Financial Analysis (IEEFA) claimed in its new paper that France has a very low share (11%) of its electricity demand covered by wind power, while offshore wind is just 1%.

Since 2011, France has carried out numerous tenders to develop offshore wind, but projects from only one tender round have started operations.

Currently, only 1.5GW of the 8.65GW of capacity awarded or due to be awarded in tenders is operational. It took the winning bidders 10 years to install the first 500MW and a further two years for the next gigawatt.

This delay, however, is not due to construction issues but rather administrative delays, legal challenges, and opposition from fishing and tourism industries, as well as local communities.

Capex for offshore wind farms is typically €3-€5m/MW ($1.68m-$2.8m/MW), depending on factors including site-specific conditions, technology and market dynamics.

The study found that unless it accelerates deployment, France might only have 3GW of operational offshore wind by 2032, leaving it far off track to achieve the government’s target of 18GW by 2035.

The 2.4 GW of capacity awarded in tenders between 2019 and 2022 is not expected to be commissioned until 2028-2032, as projects are still at the feasibility study stage.

France’s first three offshore wind parks have capex costs at the high end of the range despite being based on the more advanced seabed technology, highlighting the need to reduce supply chain logistics costs and achieve economies of scale.

One of the primary reasons for the slow development of offshore wind in France is the complex and lengthy regulatory and administrative processes. The French permit system for offshore wind is long and bureaucratic, involving multiple layers of approval from various government agencies.

France launched its first offshore wind tender in 2011, but as of 2021, not a single turbine was operational.

Local communities, environmental groups and the fishing industry have raised concerns about the visual impact of wind turbines, potential harm to marine ecosystems and disruptions to fishing activities. Simultaneously, France’s energy policy has historically been dominated by nuclear power, which accounts for about 75-80% of the country’s electricity generation.

To compare, under an optimistic scenario, France could have 3GW of operational offshore wind by 2027, which is equivalent to two European pressurised nuclear reactors. France has 58 such reactors in operation.

To catch up with its neighbours, IEEFA claims that France must address these issues by streamlining regulatory processes, improving stakeholder engagement, diversifying its energy policy, investing in infrastructure and creating a more favourable investment climate. By doing so, France can unlock the full potential of its offshore wind resources and contribute more effectively to the global renewable energy transition.

For France to succeed in its transition from a nuclear-dominated power mix to a more balanced system with significant renewable baseload, it will require a steep acceleration in solar and wind capacities. Of these, IEEFA sees offshore wind as the key technology that can be deployed at a gigawatt scale in the next decade. Encouraging progress has been made since 2022. To maintain this momentum, French energy authorities must now provide stronger support to help fast-track offshore wind development.