The French government announced on 27 December the winners of the AO6 tender, offering two 250 MW floating wind sites in the Mediterranean Sea. The winning bids were submitted by a consortium of Ocean Winds and Banque des Territoires, and another consortium of EDF Renewables and Maple Power.
The Ocean Winds-led group secured a site in the “Narbonaise” area, over 25 km from the French coast, between Agde (Hérault) and Port-la-Nouvelle (Aude). EDF and Maple Power won the site in the “Golfe de Fos” area, off Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône), also beyond 25 km from the coast.
Both winners committed to recycling wind turbines, including blades and magnets, and hiring SMEs for 10% of the work in studies, component manufacturing, and operations. They pledged at least EUR 10 million in financing or participatory investment and will allocate 400,000 hours for professional integration for those with social or professional challenges, with at least 20% dedicated to training. The winners signed the “Commitment Charter to contribute to the regional structuring of a French industrial sector,” as per the French Ministry of Industry and Energy’s press release on 27 December.
The floating wind sites’ competitive bidding began in March 2022, following a consultation by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) in 2021. Thirteen candidates were preselected in summer 2022 and engaged in a competitive dialogue.
Bids were submitted in August 2024, and the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) reviewed them, delivering its decision on 29 November, after which the government named the two winners.
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The other eleven pre-qualified companies and consortia in the tender included Iberdrola, Vattenfall, Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, S.A., Eni Plenitude, and a partnership led by Equinor. Additional participants were a consortium of BlueFloat Energy, Sumitomo Corporation, and Akuo Energy, a partnership between BayWa re and Elicio, a partnership between RWE and Bourbon, a consortium of Shell and EnBW, a consortium of Qair, TotalEnergies, and Corio Generation, and a consortium led by wpd.
Original Story at www.offshorewind.biz