The consortium of TotalEnergies and RWE has been awarded the Centre Manche 2 (AO8) offshore wind tender by the French Ministry of Industry and Energy. The partners will design, build and operate a 1.5 GW wind farm located more than 40 kilometres off the coast of Normandy.
Once operational, the project is expected to generate around 6 TWh of electricity per year. The power will be sold at a price of €66 MWh, as determined by the tender. TotalEnergies will act as operator and will continue the studies required to reach a final investment decision by early 2029. Production is scheduled to begin in 2033, in line with RTE’s grid connection programme.
RWE has indicated, as part of a strategic review, that it intends to withdraw from the consortium, subject to approval from the French authorities. TotalEnergies will continue with the project, take on the consortium’s commitments and seek a new partner.
The Government also announced that no bids were received for the AO7 auction. The site’s technical challenges and changing market conditions made it too difficult for developers to commit, despite 9 of them having prequalified to bid into AO7.
