Photo by Clement Souchet
The French government has awarded almost €260 million to five ports to upgrade the infrastructure needed to manufacture, assemble and deploy floating offshore wind turbines, in a move that could “strengthen our industrial and energy sovereignty,” according to France’s transport minister.
The funding will support projects at Cherbourg, Brest, Nantes-Saint-Nazaire, Port-la-Nouvelle and Marseille-Fos, with the port funding expected to leverage almost EUR 1 billion in total investment, according to offshoreWIND.biz. The money is being administered by ADEME, the French environment and energy management agency, under the government’s flagship France 2030 investment programme, and was awarded through a call for projects launched in 2024to build a coordinated industrial port network along France’s Atlantic, Channel and Mediterranean coasts. splash247
Building a national supply chain
The scale of the projects reflects the outsized infrastructure needed for floating wind. According to Splash247, the awards will fund the construction or reinforcement of quays, heavy-load storage and assembly areas, and access routes capable of accommodating the exceptionally large components used in floating wind developments, supporting both the manufacture and assembly of floating foundations and the integration of turbines onto those structures before they are towed out to sea. Cherbourg, Brest and Nantes-Saint-Nazaire will serve the Atlantic and Channel markets, while Port-la-Nouvelle and Marseille-Fos will provide infrastructure for developments in the Mediterranean.
One of the first ports to detail its plans was Cherbourg. Ports de Normandie said in a press release, reported by offshoreWIND.biz, that its upgrade project represents a €30 million investment, of which €10.5 million will come from the ADEME award, €18.1 million from revenue generated by offshore renewable energy activities, and €1.4 million from the Cotentin Urban Community.
The government is targeting almost 6GW of operational floating offshore wind capacity by 2040, and ports are being positioned as a central plank of that ambition. As Maritime Professional notes, the government frames the upgrades as key to building a coordinated industrial network and supporting the country’s decarbonisation and industrial sovereignty objectives, enabling French ports to compete for manufacturing, assembly, maintenance and logistics work as floating wind moves from demonstration projects to larger commercial developments.
Ministers link ports to energy strategy
France’s transport minister, Philippe Tabarot, framed the announcement in strategic terms. “Ports are a strategic link in the development of wind power, particularly offshore,” he said, “By contributing to job creation and added value in the sector in France, our ports strengthen our industrial and energy sovereignty.”
Minister delegate for energy Maud Bregeon went further, tying the port upgrades directly to France’s broader energy strategy. “Floating offshore wind is one of the pillars of our energy strategy,” she said, adding: “We are giving ourselves the means to invest in port infrastructure that will allow France to develop a competitive industrial sector, creating jobs and capable of meeting our decarbonisation imperative.”
Part of a wider push
The port awards land as France accelerates its floating wind programme more broadly. offshoreWIND.biz reports that the funding comes as the recently launched AO10 tender moves towards awarding a little over 10GW of capacity across seven floating and four fixed-bottom offshore wind farms, and follows the European Commission’s clearance earlier in July of a €63 billion scheme to support French offshore wind through 25-year Contracts for Difference, covering eleven wind farms with a combined capacity of up to 11.1GW.