The Diplomat
Iberdrola is aiming to develop two new offshore wind projects in French waters totalling 2,500 megawatts (MW) as part of its commitment to boosting renewable energy in France.
The French Ministry of Energy Transition announced on Monday the final list of candidates for these two offshore wind farms located off the island of Oléron, called (AO7) and Normandy (AO8), reports Europa Press.
In the case of the 1,000 MW AO7 project, Iberdrola will compete with Ocean Winds, RWE, Océole, Eni Plenitude, as well as the joint ventures of Corio-Qair, EDF Renwables-Maple Power, Skyborn-Cobra and TotalEnergies and Jera.
For the 1,500 MW AO8 wind farm, it will bid with Ocean Winds, Eni Plenitude, an alliance formed by Vattenfall, Skyborn and Banque de Territoires, and also with the joint ventures of EDF Renewables and Maple Power, TotalEnergies and RWE, and Corio and Qair.
The award of these two projects will take place in early 2024, with the aim of having them up and running by 2032.
The Spanish energy company also aspired to develop 1,000 MW of power on the coast of Normandy, a project that was finally awarded this Monday by the French government to the state-owned EDF and the Canadian company Maple Power, through its joint venture Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie.
Last November, Iberdrola signed a memorandum of understanding with the investment firm AXA IM Alts, which would be incorporated as a minority shareholder, to aspire to the development of a 1,000 MW offshore wind project in Normandy.
In addition, the French government said that the specifications for another 250 MW floating offshore wind project in southern Brittany (AO5) will be published on the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) website in April next.
It will be one of the first floating wind projects in the world to be awarded by commercial tender. Candidates will be able to prepare their bids, which will then be selected based on a panel of economic, social and environmental criteria. The wind farm is scheduled to be awarded by the end of 2023.
Iberdrola has been present in France for twenty years and plans to invest around 4 billion euros by 2025 in the country, mainly in renewable energy projects.
In France, the group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán operates 11 wind projects with a total installed capacity of 118 MW. The company is developing a portfolio of wind and photovoltaic projects of more than 800 MW at different stages of development, from Paris and with regional offices in Lyon, Nantes, Nancy, Bordeaux, Limoges and Marseille.
In addition, it was recently awarded its first floating solar plant project in France with a total capacity of 25 MW (MWp) as part of a call launched in June 2022 by the municipality of Kurtzenhouse (67) in Alsace.
It is also currently building a 496 MW offshore wind farm in the bay of Saint-Brieuc that will be commissioned in December 2023.
