Ideol, Eolfi, Principle Power, Quadran, Naval Energies and SBM Offshore have signed a joint declaration calling on the French government to provide a clear capacity pipeline in the next decade to support the nascent technology.
The companies said floating wind power prices could get to as low as €60/MWh by 2030 "provided it has sufficient volume by then".
The declaration comes ahead of the French government publishing its 2019-2023 energy plan. The partners called on the government to commit to regular commercial tenders, so France could develop 3-5GW of floating wind capacity by 2030.
"An initial volume in 2019 a of three 250MW [auctions] spread between Brittany, Occitania and the South regions, would constitute a reasonable compromise between budget and volumes needed to lower costs," the six companies wrote in the letter.
The partners suggested floating offshore wind could provide the same amount of electricity as eight nuclear reactors by 2040.
"France has the opportunity to create thousands of jobs in its territories through the manufacture of components of wind turbines, the development of ports and the development of logistics platforms," the partners stated.
"France also has the opportunity to reinforce the international leadership that some of its nuggets have demonstrated to Japan; however, it can not afford to rest on its earliest laurels as foreign companies announce and launch large-scale projects around the world," they added.
