Wind power in France explained
In 2021 France reached a total of 18,676 megawatts (MW) installed wind power capacity[1] placing France at that time as the world's seventh largest wind power nation by installed capacity, behind the United Kingdom and Brazil and ahead of Canada and Italy. According to the IEA the yearly wind production was 20.2 TWh in 2015, representing almost 23% of the 88.4 TWh from renewable sources in France during that year.[2] Wind provided 4.3% of the country's electricity demand in 2015.
Wind energy capacity, 2014-2023 (MW)[3] | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 9,201 | 10,298 | 11,567 | 13,499 | 14,900 | 16,427 | 17,535 | 18,551 | 20,811 | 22,196 | |
Onshore wind energy capacity, 2014-2023 (MW)[4] | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 9,191 | 10,287 | 11,556 | 13,497 | 14,898 | 16,425 | 17,533 | 18,549 | 20,809 | 22,194 | |
France has the second largest wind potential in Europe.
[5] The country's, wind power potential is due to its large land area and extensive agricultural landscape where turbines may be located more readily as well as access to considerable offshore resources.
Timeline of developments
- In 2001 the French government initially planned to produce 21% of its electricity consumption with renewable energy in 2010 to comply with European directive 2001/77/CE of 27 September 2001. This means that France had to produce 106 TWh of renewable energy in 2010, up from 71 TWh in 2006. Wind power represents 75% of the 35 TWh additional production in 2010.[6]
- In 2016 installed capacity rises above 1 GW for the first time during the year.
- By year-end 2015 the total onshore installed capacity of 10,358 MW consisted of 5,956 turbines, with the average turbine at just under 2 MW of power. Newer turbines may be larger following the development of wind power in the last decades.[7] The leading regions in France in 2015 were Champagne-Ardenne with an installed capacity of 1,682 MW, Picardie with 1,502 MW, Centre with 872 MW and Bretagne with 836 MW.
- In 2016 while France has been a relative late developer in wind power compared to other European countries it has set the target of more than doubling onshore wind power capacity from 2015 levels by 2023. Offshore wind power is scheduled to come online from 2018 for the first time and including marine energy could rise to up to 11.1 GW of power by 2023. Realisation of these plans would more than likely see France overtake highly ranked Spain in terms of installed capacity by 2023.
- 2018 saw France hold its first onshore wind auction, 500 MW in 22 projects at a strike price of €65.4 MWh.[8]
- In 2019, Emmanuel Macron confirmed France's pledge to add 1 GW offshore wind every year between 2020 and 2024 as laid out in France's new draft energy plan (PPE).[9]
- In February 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France was to build 50 offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of at least 40 GW by 2050.[10]
Installed capacity
| Year | Installations (MW) | Ref. |
|---|
| 2002 | 148 | [11] |
|---|
| 2003 | 248 | |
|---|
| 2004 | 390 | |
|---|
| 2005 | 757 | |
|---|
| 2006 | 1,711 | |
|---|
| 2007 | 2,495 | |
|---|
| 2008 | 3,577 | |
|---|
| 2009 | 4,713 | |
|---|
| 2010 | 5,977 | |
|---|
| 2011 | 6,809 | |
|---|
| 2012 | 7,613 | |
|---|
| 2013 | 8,558 | |
|---|
| 2014 | 9,285 | |
|---|
|
| Year | Installations (MW) | Ref. |
|---|
| 2015 | 10,358 | |
|---|
| 2016 | 12,066 | |
|---|
| 2017 | 13,512 | |
|---|
| 2018 | 15,108 | |
|---|
| 2019 | 16,260 | |
|---|
| 2020 | 17,382 | [12] |
|---|
| 2021 | 18,676 | |
|---|
| 2022 | 19,524 | [13] |
|---|
|
Future projections
Onshore
Projected onshore windpower in France!!2014!2018!2023 low!2023 high| Onshore wind power | 9,300 MW | 15,000 MW | 21,800 MW | 26,000 MW | |
Onshore wind power is projected to rise to 15,000 MW by 2018 and between a low target scenario of 21,800 MW and a high target scenario of 26,000 MW by 2023.
Offshore
Between 2004 and 2011, high costs and local fishing communities prevented some projects in the public ocean domain. After 2013, information was improved, and permissioning was moved from local to national regulatory authority.[14]
The first commercial offshore wind power project came on line in 2022 with 480 MW capacity.[15] By 2023 another traditional 3,000 MW of capacity is expected to come online with an additional 500 to 6,000 MW of performance dependent installation planned. Marine energy including floating wind turbines will add an additional 100 MW as well as an additional 200 to 2000 MW of capacity by 2023. Overall including marine energy offshore installed capacity will rise to between 3,100 and 11,100 MW by 2023. French law requires owners to decommission facilities at their end-of-life.[14]
The 2022 plan for 2050 is for 40 GW of offshore wind energy.[16]
Onshore auctions
Auctions started in 2018 and in 2021 France introduced a scheme to combine auctions for all types of renewables, called PPE2.
| Onshore wind auctions |
|---|
No.
(PPE2) | Year | MW | Projects | Av. strike price | Ref. |
|---|
| 1 | 2018 | 500 | 22 | €65.4 MWh | |
| 2 | 2018 | 118 | 5 | €65.4 MWh | |
| 3 | 2019 | 516 | 21 | €63.0 MWh | [17] |
| 4 | 2019 | 576 | 20 | €66.50 MWh | [18] |
| 5 | 2020 | 649 | 88 | €62.11 MWh | [19] |
| 6 | 2020 | 749 | 23 | €62.90 MWh | |
| 7 | 2021 | 519 | 15 | €59.5 MWh | [20] |
| 8 (1) | 2021 | 404 | 26 | €60.8 MWh | [21] |
| 9 (2) | 2022 | 510 | 32 | €59,52 KWh | [22] |
| 10 (3) | 2022 | 293 | 17 | €67,5 MWh | [23] |
| Total | 4,454 | 216 | | | |
|---|
| Onshore wind auctions |
|---|
| PPE2 | Year | MW | Projects | Av. strike price | Ref. |
|---|
| 2023 | 54 | 4 | €76.4 MWh | [24] |
| 4 | 2023 | 1,156 | 73 | €85.29 MWh | [25] |
| 5 | 2023 | 931 | 54 | €86.94 MWh | [26] |
|
Offshore auctions
The following offshore windfarm projects listed have been successful at the auctions.
| No. | Wind farm | Coordinates | Cap.
(MW) | Turbines | Commissioned | Build cost/
Strike price | Depth
range (m) | km to
shore | Owner | Refs. |
|---|
1
2012 | | 47.16°N -2.607°W | 480 | 80 x 6 MW Haliade 150-6MW (GE Energy) | 2022[27] | 2 billion
@€150MWh | 10-21m | 12 km | EDF, Enbridge and WPD | [28] [29] [30] |
Projet eolien en Mer
de la Baie
de Saint-Brieuc | 48.854°N -2.537°W | 496 | 62 x 8 MW AD8-180 (Adwen) | 2024[31] | 2.4 billion
@€155MWh | 28-36m | 16.3 km | Iberdrola, Eole-RES and CDC | [32] [33] [34] |
| Hautes Falaises (Fécamp) | 49.892°N 0.227°W | 498 | 83 x 6 MW Haliade 150-6MW (GE Energy) | 2023 planned[35] | 2 billion
@€150MWh | 25-31m | 13 km | EDF, Enbridge and WPD | [36] |
| Calvados | 49.47°N -0.522°W | 448 | 75 x 6 MW Haliade 150-6MW (GE Energy) | 2024 planned[37] [38] | 1.8 billion
@€150MWh | 21-30m | 11 km | EDF, Enbridge and WPD | [39] |
2
2014 | Dieppe Le Tréport | | 496 | 62 x 8 MW Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD | 2025 planned | 2.7 billion
@€150MWh | 14-24m | 15.5 km | Engie, EDPR, Sumitomo Corp and CDC | [40] |
| Îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier | | 496 | 62 x 8 MW Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD | 2025 planned | 2.5 billion
@€137MWh | 19-36m | 11.7 km | Engie, EDPR, Sumitomo Corp and CDC | [41] |
3
2019 | Dunkerque | | 600 | 46 x | 2028 planned | 1.6 billion
@€44MWh | | 11.4 km | Eoliennes en mer de Dunkerque (EDF, Innogy and Enbridge) | |
4
2023 | Centre Manche 1 | | 1,050 | 47 x | 2031 planned | 2 billion
@€44.9MWh | | >32 km | EDF & Maple Power | [42] |
|
Notes and References
- Web site: Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2022.
- Web site: Programmations pluriannuelles de l'énergie (PPE). Ministère de la Transition écologique.
- Web site: IRENA . International Renewable Energy Agency . 2024 . RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2024 . 11 May 2024 . www.irena.org.
- Web site: IRENA . International Renewable Energy Agency . 2024 . RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2024 . 11 May 2024 . www.irena.org.
- Web site: France. www.wind-energy-the-facts.org.
- source: Jérôme Gosset et Thierry Ranchin: Bilan et prospective de la filière éolienne française
- Web site: Wind energy production capacity France 2020. Statista.
- Web site: First French onshore wind tender comes in at €65.4/MWh . 1 March 2018.
- Web site: Macron vows to accelerate France's offshore ambitions.
- News: Macron bets on nuclear in carbon-neutrality push, announces new reactors. Reuters. 10 February 2022. Lough. Richard.
- Web site: France - Countries - Online access - The Wind Power - Wind energy Market Intelligence. www.thewindpower.net.
- Web site: Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2021.
- Web site: France Wind Power Market Overview . 7 January 2024.
- Web site: Offshore wind energy in France CMS Expert Guides . cms.law . https://web.archive.org/web/20220611180745/https://cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/cms-expert-guide-to-offshore-wind-in-northern-europe/france . 11 June 2022 . en . May 2017 . live.
- News: Williams . Nia . 2022-11-23 . France's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm starts full operations . en . Reuters . 2022-11-24.
- Web site: "France 2030" Investment Plan . 19 May 2023.
- Web site: France awards 516 MW of onshore wind in latest tender round . 13 June 2019.
- Web site: Price ticks upwards in latest French onshore wind tender . 9 October 2019.
- Web site: France awards 1.7 GW renewables projects, adjusts 2020 auction schedule . 3 April 2020.
- Web site: Latest French onshore wind tender awards 15 projects . 4 February 2021.
- Web site: ENVINERGY INSIGHT ON 8TH FRENCH ONSHORE WIND AUCTION .
- Web site: ENVINERGY INSIGHT ON 9TH FRENCH ONSHORE WIND AUCTION . 2022.
- Web site: ENVINERGY INSIGHT ON 10TH FRENCH ONSHORE WIND AUCTION, revised version . September 2022.
- Web site: France Awards Only 54 MW of Capacity in a 925 MW Onshore Wind Tender . 23 March 2023.
- Web site: French onshore wind tender selects 1.1 GW of winners . 7 July 2023.
- Web site: 54 onshore sites win in latest French tender . 24 November 2023.
- Web site: Construction Heats up at France's First Offshore Wind Farm. 30 August 2021.
- Web site: Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm . 2023-10-07.
- Web site: French offshore wind gets rolling with flagship turbine for Saint-Nazaire Recharge . Recharge Latest renewable energy news . en . 15 September 2020.
- Web site: French offshore wind – and the first shall be last… . 11 May 2018.
- Web site: Saint-Brieuc: Iberdrola's first large-scale offshore wind power project in Brittany.
- Web site: Saint-Brieuc Offshore Wind Farm - Partial Generation/Under Construction - France 4C Offshore . 2023-07-10 . www.4coffshore.com.
- Web site: July 7, 2023 . Iberdrola's Saint-Brieuc wind farm generates first power . Power Technology.
- Web site: Éolien en mer. Le projet de Saint-Brieuc sera le plus cher de tous les parcs éoliens français . 4 September 2019.
- Web site: Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm, Seine-Maritime.
- Web site: Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm . 2023-10-07.
- Web site: France's Calvados Offshore Wind Farm Enters Construction Phase. 22 February 2021.
- Web site: Memija . Adnan . Recyclable Blades Ordered for French Offshore Wind Farm . Offshore Wind . 29 August 2022.
- Web site: Calvados Offshore Wind Farm . https://web.archive.org/web/20170224052412/http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/parc-%C3%A9olien-en-mer-du-calvados-france-fr35.html . 2017-02-24 . live .
- Web site: Le projet en bref . 2023-07-06 . Éoliennes en Mer Dieppe Le Tréport . fr-FR.
- Web site: Le parc en bref . 2023-07-06 . Éoliennes en Mer des Îles d'Yeu et de Noirmoutier . fr-FR.
- Web site: Parc éolien Centre-Manche 1 : les éoliennes feront plus de 300 m de haut . 8 December 2023.
