France begins construction of floating offshore wind farms

The system with three wind turbines is the first of three pilot wind farms in the Mediterranean.

The connection for the cable, which will soon connect the wind turbine, which will soon be 18 kilometers off the coast, to the onshore electricity grid, has been launched, grid operator RTE announced on Tuesday evening.

After the pilot wind farm, two large floating wind farms are planned, each with a capacity of 250 megawatts, which can be increased to 500 megawatts.

For its future energy supply, France relies not only on the construction of numerous new nuclear power plants, but also on an accelerated expansion of renewable energy sources. Laws must be amended and procedures must be accelerated. France wants to realize about 50 offshore wind farms at sea with a capacity of 40 gigawatts by 2050.

As announced by RTE, the construction of permanently installed and floating offshore wind farms must continue to complete the energy transition and achieve the desired climate neutrality. In 2050, offshore wind farms could supply 12 to 31 percent of France’s electricity. France’s long and windy coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean make it very suitable for the installation of floating wind farms. However, these are not yet as technically advanced as permanent parks.