The French government announces the award of the Central Channel 2 marine energy project to the consortium approved by TotalEnergies and RWE, in the middle of the October public competition (AO8). At a price of 66 euros/MWh, the marine electric project has never been more competitive in the country and has refused to compete with this decarbonated electricity source.

Located more than 40 kilometers from the coast of Cotentin (Normandy), the park will have a capacity of 1,500 MW and is expected to come into operation in 2032, with capacity to build 1.2 million stations.

The consortium has made compromises with the local industry, including the use of European turbines and cables, as well as the participation of Pymes in less than 10% of the studio activities, manufacturing of components, construction and operation.

At the same time, the Gobierno informed that the seven competitors (AO7), corresponding to the Oléron 1 project, was declared to be willing to accept the offer of the new prequalified candidates, which reflects the need to balance the socio-economic and environmental requirements in future processes.

The Renewable Energies Union (SER) removed the relevance of this hito for the sector. “At a price of 66 €/MWh, the demonstration is clear: the marina is the most competitive source of electricity, in addition to being a European value chain,” said Jules Nyssen, president of the SER.

The association also requires the urgent need to publish the new Multi-Year Energy Program (PPE), which will enable a final competition (AO10) to be launched this year and advance to AO9, relating to the expansion of the first floating projects.

The SER has more than 500 employees, with a contribution of 166,000 employees in France, representing all the sources of renewable energy.

“In a complicated budgetary context, this announcement once again demonstrates the extremely high competitiveness of offshore wind power. With a price of EUR 66/MWh, it has been demonstrated that offshore wind power is undoubtedly the most competitive source of carbon-free electricity, while using components manufactured in Europe,” said Jules Nyssen, President of the SER.