France has re-negotiated feed-in tariffs for six previously approved offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 3GW.
The news was announced by France’s President Emmanuel Macron during an official visit to the developers behind one of the six projects, the St. Brieuc wind farm in Brittany.
According to France’s Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition Nicolas Hulot, the feed-in tariffs have been reduced from EUR 200 to around EUR 150 per MWh.
@EmmanuelMacron confirme le lancement des 6 parcs éoliens en mer, grâce à la renégociation des tarifs ✅ des tarifs qui passent de 200€ à environ 150€ ✅ la puissance de 2 réacteurs nucléaires vont être installés dans les prochaines années ✅ des emplois pour nos territoires pic.twitter.com/aF7PCrnDQQ
— Nicolas Hulot (@N_Hulot) June 20, 2018
According to local media, the re-negotiated tariffs will lead to a combined reduction of around EUR 15 billion in subsidies.
The six offshore wind projects were selected in the country’s first two tender rounds in 2012 and 2014.
The 2012 projects include Saint-Nazaire, Courseulles-sur-Mer, and Fécamp, developed by an EDF-led consortium, and Saint Brieuc, developed by an Iberdrola-led consortium, with a combined capacity of 2GW.
The Round 2 tender winners in 2014 include the 496MW Dieppe-Le Tréport and the 496MW Ile d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier projects, developed by an Engie-led consortium.
The French government submitted a proposal to renegotiate the terms of the six offshore wind projects to the Senate in March 2018. The Senate subsequently rejected the proposal.
The initiative also faced strong opposition from French industry representatives, as well as from the representatives from the regions of Brittany, Normandy and Pays-de-la-Loire, where the six wind farms are to be built.