A public consultation on a 250MW French tidal wave tender is set to be launched by the end of this year.
Benoit Vantourout, Project Manager at the Direction Générale de l’énergie et du climat (DGEC), said the consultation would then be potentially followed by detailed environmental and technical studies in 2027. The aim is to allocate the award in 2030.
The tender, whose strike price is set to be set at €160MW/H, is part of the multi-year energy plan PPE 3, which was launched recently in France after a long delay.
“There is public interest in developing this kind of renewable energy,” he told the Seanergy conference in Nantes. “It is the most mature technology after offshore wind, and it is more predictable as it is less dependent on weather. We envisage that the tender will be similar in format to offshore wind, but the specifics will be determined after the consultation and studies.”
He said that following the authorisation of two pilot development projects in France – the 12 MW NH1 tidal project being developed by Normandie Hydroliennes and the 17MW Flowatt being developed by HydroQuest and Qair – a move to 250MW was the “correct level to scale up and decrease sector costs.”
Guillaume Gréau, head of business development at HydroQuest, said the 250MW tender would help with investment into factories, processes and labour. He said its Flowatt project is on track to be commissioned in 2029, which would give the industry 12 months of real industry and technical experience before the tender is launched.
Bertrand Le Mouellic, operations director at Normandie Hydroliennes, said France could become the “pioneer in tidal energy in Europe”. He said the aim would be to reduce the €160MW/H level over time to be more competitive with other renewable sectors such as offshore wind with strike prices of around €100MW/H. He expects NH1 to also be commissioned in 2029.
However, both developers said they were still waiting on the strike price decree for their floating projects before making a final investment decision.
Vantourout said this was currently being prepared by the government.
