There are still two projects but they seem to be well underway: the two floating wind farms in the Mediterranean. Jean Castex, the 1st Minister announced this Monday while traveling in the Aude that two wind farm projects will be built by 2030. One of the two should see the light of day about twenty kilometers from Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône), “subject to the results of the latest environmental studies”, said Jean Castex. The other would be at a twenty kilometers off Port-la-Nouvelle in Aude.
50 offshore wind farms by 2050
These two wind farms could supply electricity to one million people. Each park will include around twenty wind turbines, for a production of 250 megawatts (MW) each. And the Prime Minister clarifies: “each park can be extended in a second step to reach 750 megawatts, which will cover 10% of the consumption of the Occitanie and PACA regions”
These parks are a first in the Mediterranean while seven projects are in the pipeline, at varying degrees of progress, in the Atlantic or in the North Sea. France wants to speed up, with the aim of “build 50 offshore wind farms by 2050”or 40 gigawatts (GW) of total capacity, recalled Mr. Castex, which should represent “20% of electricity consumption in France”.
To meet this objective, the government also announced on Monday the allocation of 2 GW of projects each year from 2024. Which would make offshore wind “the second source of electricity in France after nuclear power”according to Jean Castex.