The French government launched a tender for a 1 GW offshore wind farm and 6 companies were shortlisted

The French government has pre-selected six candidates in a tender to build an offshore wind farm
of about 1 GW near the Normandy region of the English Channel.

The government announced on Monday that the tender process launched in January has attracted widespread attention
from domestic and foreign businesses.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate in a competitive dialogue, during which they will have the opportunity to improve their proposals
.

Project specifications will be discussed in the coming months, while the winner will be announced
in 2022.

According to the requirements, the wind farm must be put into operation
by 2028.

Here are the six shortlisted pre-qualified bidders:

- Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie (a joint venture between EDF Renewable Energy and Maple Power;

- Iberdrola Renovables France

- Ocean Winds (a joint venture between Engie and EDPR)

-Shell

- A consortium between Total and RWEL

- Vattenfall-Wpd-Banque des Territoires consortium

According to the relevant documents, the winning bidder will be responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of an offshore wind farm with a capacity of approximately 1 GW in an area 32 kilometers (20 miles) off the coast of the Cotentin Peninsula, including project financing and management
.

France plans to operate 2.
4 GW of offshore wind projects by 2023 as it seeks to reduce its reliance on nuclear power, nearly doubling its installed renewable energy capacity to 113 GW
by 2028.
Offshore wind capacity will reach 5.
2 GW by 2023 and 6.
2 GW
in 2028.