French 3GW offshore tender announced

The government has listened to industry concerns about the price ceiling of €150-160/MWh  proposed in an earlier consultation document. The industry feared this price was too low and that projects would not get built.

The ceiling now stands at €175/MWh or €200/MWh, depending on the zone, which will be awarded as a single project.

Bids must be submitted by 11 January 2012, with the winners to be announced early April. They will be selected on the basis of the proposed price, plans to establish local supply lines and industrial partnerships, the environmental impact and the impact on other marine activities.

Several major players have already announced their intentions to bid, such as EDF Energies Nouvelles, GDF Suez, Iberdrola and Dong Energy.

This is the first of two tenders to be launched by the French government as part of the plan to install 6GW of capacity offshore by 2020.