In addition to nuclear power, France is focusing on the expansion of renewable energies. By 2050, the German neighboring country wants to build 50 offshore wind farms at sea – up to 31 percent of national electricity consumption could be covered with this. The first three floating plants are now being built.
Work has begun on France’s first floating offshore wind farm near Perpignan on France’s Mediterranean coast. The connector for the cable that will connect the wind turbine, which will soon be floating 18 kilometers offshore, to the power grid on land has been lowered into the water, according to the power grid operator RTE.
The system with three wind turbines is the first of three pilot wind farms in the Mediterranean. Two large, floating wind farms are then planned, each with an output of 250 megawatts, which can be increased to 500 megawatts.
For its future energy supply, France is relying not only on the construction of numerous new nuclear power plants but also on an accelerated expansion of renewable energies. Laws are to be adapted and procedures accelerated. By 2050, France wants to create around 50 offshore wind farms at sea with a capacity of 40 gigawatts.
As RTE announced, the construction of permanently installed and floating offshore wind farms must be pushed ahead in order to complete the energy transition and achieve the desired climate neutrality. In 2050, offshore wind farms could supply 12 to 31 percent of France’s electricity.
Because of its long and windy coasts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic, France is well suited for the installation of floating wind farms. However, these are not yet as technically advanced as permanently installed parks. While the wind turbines are fixed to a foundation in comparatively shallow water in firmly anchored offshore parks, floating parks can also be set up far from the coast at sea depths of 30 to 300 meters, explained RTE. The platform on which the wind turbines stand is moored to the seabed.
