France to Set its First Offshore 3000 MW Wind Farm

The Environment and Energy Ministry of France has plans to call for tenders for its proposed 3000 MW offshore wind farm with 600 wind turbines costing around 10 billion Euros. The estimate was arrived at keeping in view the estimation of 3.5 million Euros per MW of power production.

Pierre-Franck Chevet, an Environment and Energy Ministry official, said that the government is planning to earmark 5 of the 10 offshore locations measured for environmental compatibility exclusively for offshore wind turbine parks. He added that further studies on the locations are continuing and no final decision has been  arrived at  for inclusion in the proposed tenders. He added that the bid process will also decide the required engineering costs for each  project to arrive at a price at which the French utilities will purchase power from the manufacturers. The government is planning to produce around 6000 MW offshore wind power by the year 2020.

France, which is yet to develop its first offshore wind park is planning to follow the footsteps of its neighboring countries such as UK in developing wind projects that are more viable in power production but less disturbing to the communities living nearby. The country is also considering wind sites located in Utah beach in Normandy and places off Brittany and Languedoc-Roussillon in the Mediterranean Sea.