The government has instructed prefects to initiate consultations with a view to the development of offshore wind farms in France, in particular by setting them quantified guidelines for offshore deployment. The representatives of the State received this circular on Wednesday asking them to initiate territorial consultations with the actors of the sea, indicated this Thursday the ministries of the Sea, Ecology and Energy Transitions.
Identify “priority areas of development”
Faced with growing electricity needs and the need for green energy, the country is planning about 40 gigawatts (about 50 parks) in offshore wind power by 2050. To meet these goals, the prefects will first need to bring together the stakeholders of the sea within the maritime councils in order to prepare for the autumn of 2023 the holding, for the first time and simultaneously, of public debates on the four maritime façades of the country.
These discussions will aim, in particular, to identify “priority zones for the development of offshore wind energy” until 2033 and then until 2050. For this, the State is already providing them with proposed ranges by facade. By 2033, 7 to 11 GW could be deployed in the English Channel-North Sea, 6 to 9.5 GW in the Western North Atlantic Channel, 2.5 to 5.5 GW in the South Atlantic and 3 to 4.5 GW in the Mediterranean, according to these “range guidance” released Thursday. France wants to launch 18 GW of new projects by 2033 and an additional 14 GW by 2050.
Seven other parks in the pipelines
From administrative complications to systematic appeals, the country, which began awarding its first projects in 2011, currently has only one commercial fleet in operation, off Saint-Nazaire, since the end of 2022. Another seven are in the works, more or less advanced stages, which places the country behind its German, British or Scandinavian neighbours.
They also call for “making regional public debates an opportunity to present the future challenges of all maritime actors (fishing, maritime transport, navigation, shellfishing, shipbuilding, etc.”). The government also foresees the definition of “strong protection zones” to face the challenges of preserving biodiversity and compatibility with economic activities. These “ZPF” would come to represent 5% of the area of the exclusive economic zones.
Source: BFM TV
