French energy giant TotalEnergies announced that its consortium with German power producer RWE has been awarded the Centre Manche 2 (AO8) offshore wind tender by the government of France, winning a bid to design, develop, build and operate the largest-ever renewable energy project in France.
Alongside the announcement, the company said that RWE has decided to exit the consortium, with TotalEnergies stating that it will continue to pursue the project and assume all of the consortium’s commitments, adding that it will propose to bring a new partner into the project.
Located more than 40 km off the coast of Normandy, the 1.5 GW offshore wind farm is anticipated to supply renewable electricity to the equivalent of over 1 million French households, generating approximately 6 TWh per year, which will be sold at a price of price of €66/MWh, as set by the tender.
TotalEnergies said that the project is expected to represent a €4.5 billion investment, and employ up to 2,500 people during its construction over three years. The company said that it expects to reach a final investment decision on the project by early 2029, with the new windfarm anticipated to begin electricity production in 2033.
As part of the investment, TotalEnergies said that it will allocate €45 million to measures aimed at avoiding, reducing, and offsetting the project’s impacts, as well as €15 million to a biodiversity promotion fund in Normandy. The company has also committed to achieve recycling, reuse, or repurposing rates of blades, towers, and nacelles of at least 95%, with 100% of generator magnets being recycled or reused.
TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said:
“We are very proud to have won this tender for the construction of the largest renewable energy park in France to date. It embodies Total’s transformation into TotalEnergies in France. This project will be the largest investment made by TotalEnergies in France in decades and reflects our Company’s deep commitment to our country.”
