Swedish power company Vattenfall has said it has, with partners wpd and BlueFloat Energy, prequalified for the upcoming 250MW floating offshore wind tender off the coast of South Brittany in France, the first commercial floating tender in France.
"Vattenfall is pleased to have been shortlisted to enter the next phase of the competitive process together with French-based developer wpd and floating offshore wind pioneer BlueFloat Energy alongside nine other candidates," the company said.
Catrin Jung, Head of Vattenfall’s Business Unit Offshore: "France is among the leading countries in the development of commercial floating offshore wind in Europe. Shortly after submitting our bid to the Scotwind leasing round, we are very excited to participate in this floating tender in South Brittany thus contributing to France’s objectives to accelerate the deployment of a cost-competitive and locally beneficial offshore wind industry. This is in line with Vattenfall’s ambition to enable fossil-free living within one generation."
The floating wind project is expected to be finally awarded by the end of 2022 with commissioning by 2029.
Floating technology enables the installation of wind farms in greater depth areas (>50-60meters) compared to traditional fixed-bottom turbines, opening additional opportunities to increase offshore installed capacity worldwide-
"Four pilot floating offshore wind projects of about 30MW each are currently under development in France with the support of the State, one in South Brittany and three in the Mediterranean Sea, at a tariff of 240€/MWh. Provided upcoming technological developments, scaling-up and industrialization deliver forecasted cost savings that will reduce the tariff, floating offshore wind could represent a sizeable share of offshore wind installed capacity by 2040, including in France," Vattenfall said.