State aid: Commission approves support for six offshore wind farms in France

The European Commission has found support to six large offshore wind farms in French territorial waters to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measures will help France reduce CO2 emissions, in line with EU energy and climate goals, without unduly distorting competition in the single market.

France intends to support six offshore wind farms for electricity generation. The six sites are located in French territorial waters off the North-Western coast of France. The sites are “Courselles-sur-Mer”, “Fécamp”, “Saint-Nazaire”, “Iles d’Yeu / Noirmoutier”, “Dieppe / Le Tréport” and “Saint-Brieuc”.

These are the first selected offshore wind projects supported by France. Each of the wind farms will be composed of 62 to 83 turbines with an installed capacity of 450 to 498 megawatts per farm. The selected installations will receive support in the form of feed-in tariffs over a period of 20 years. The construction of the first of the wind farms is to start this year and they should be operational as of 2022. Once finalised, the wind farms will increase France’s renewables generation capacity by about three gigawatts.

The Commission assessed the six support measures under EU State aid rules, in particular the Commission’s 2008 Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection.

The Commission found that:

• the support measures will help France boost its share of electricity produced from renewable energy sources to meet its climate targets, in line with the environmental objectives of the EU;
• the level of aid granted to the six projects is proportionate and does not entail overcompensation of the beneficiaries, in line with the requirements of the Guidelines.

On this basis, the Commission has concluded that the measures will encourage the development of renewable energy and will help France meet its climate targets, without unduly distorting competition.

Background

The Commission’s 2008 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection allow Member States to support the production of electricity from renewable energy sources, subject to certain conditions. These rules are aimed at meeting the EU’s ambitious energy and climate targets at the least possible cost for taxpayers and without undue distortions of competition in the Single Market.

The Renewable Energy Directive established targets for all Member States’ shares of renewable energy sources in gross final energy consumption by 2020. For France that target is 23% by 2020. The projects aim to contribute to reaching that target.

More information on today’s decision will be available, once potential confidentiality issues have been resolved, in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website under the case numbers SA.45274, SA.45275, SA.45276, SA.47246, SA.47247 and SA.48007. The State Aid Weekly e-News lists new publications of State aid decisions on the internet and in the EU Official Journal.