France Launches AO10 Offshore Wind Tender for 10 GW Across Floating and Fixed Projects

France has launched its AO10 offshore wind tender covering 11 fixed-bottom and floating wind projects with just over 10 GW of combined capacity across Normandy, Brittany, the South Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean Sea, with bids due by 12 October 2026. The tender includes seven floating wind projects and four fixed-bottom projects, with notable developments including three 1.35 gigawatt fixed-bottom sites at Fécamp Grand Large, the 1.2 gigawatt Bretagne Nord Ouest floating wind project and the 1.2 gigawatt Oléron 1 development. The French government targets award prices below €100 per megawatt hour for both fixed-bottom and floating projects, with the AO10 programme forming part of a broader offshore wind pipeline across AO9 and AO10 expected to deliver around 10 gigawatts in total awards contributing to longer-term goals of nearly 6 gigawatts of floating offshore wind by 2040 and 45 gigawatts of total offshore wind capacity by 2050.

 

The Tender Framework and Evaluation Criteria

 

The Commission de régulation de l'énergie is issuing detailed specifications covering project objectives, eligibility criteria, evaluation methodology and submission limits, with requests for additional information open until 19 July. The tender assessment framework includes criteria based on price, industrial resilience, environmental performance and cybersecurity, reflecting the French government's intent to use offshore wind procurement as a tool for multiple policy objectives beyond simply securing the lowest-cost electricity. The inclusion of industrial resilience and cybersecurity alongside price and environmental performance in the evaluation criteria signals that France is applying a broader conception of energy security to its offshore wind tendering than purely commercial optimisation.

The European content requirements embedded in the AO10 framework are particularly significant, with at least 75 percent of turbine components and 75 percent of crew transfer vessels required to be sourced and built in Europe. These requirements reflect the EU's Clean Industrial Deal ambition to ensure that the renewable energy buildout supports European manufacturing rather than simply accelerating deployment through lowest-cost global supply chains. For offshore wind turbine manufacturers and vessel operators, the 75 percent European content threshold creates a procurement preference that favours companies with established European manufacturing footprints while creating incentives for others to expand European production capacity to qualify for future tenders.

 

Read more: Poland's Updated Energy Plan Targets 128-156 GW Installed Capacity with Renewables at 60% and Nuclear by Late 2030s

 

France's Offshore Wind Ambition and Floating Wind Leadership

 

The AO10 tender's inclusion of seven floating wind projects out of 11 total reflects France's geographic position, where the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts offer excellent wind resources in water depths unsuitable for conventional fixed-bottom foundations. Floating offshore wind technology, which allows turbines to be deployed in water depths exceeding 60 metres using moored floating platforms, is less commercially mature than fixed-bottom technology but is expected to become cost-competitive as the supply chain scales and installation methods improve through projects like those in the AO10 pipeline. France's target of nearly 6 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2040 positions it as one of the leading European markets for this emerging technology, providing the project pipeline needed to drive down costs through learning curve effects.

The 45 gigawatt total offshore wind target by 2050, representing approximately 20 percent of projected electricity demand, places offshore wind at the centre of France's long-term electricity system decarbonisation strategy alongside its existing nuclear fleet. The combination of a large nuclear baseload and a growing offshore wind capacity provides France with a complementary generation mix that offers low-carbon firm power from nuclear alongside variable but cost-effective offshore wind, potentially creating one of the most resilient low-carbon electricity systems in Europe. The progression from AO9 and AO10 toward this long-term target will require sustained tendering, regulatory streamlining and supply chain development over the next two decades.

 

Explore OneStop ESG Marketplace: Wind Energy

 

Outlook for French Offshore Wind Development

 

The AO10 launch represents a significant step in France's offshore wind development trajectory, which has historically been slower than comparable European markets including the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark due to permitting complexity and community consultation requirements. Whether the 12 October 2026 bid deadline attracts the competitive interest needed to achieve the below €100 per megawatt hour price target across both fixed-bottom and floating projects will be an important early test of market appetite and technology cost trajectories for French offshore wind. The floating wind component in particular will test whether project developers can credibly price floating wind projects at or below €100 per megawatt hour given the current maturity of floating wind technology and supply chain costs.

Sustained competitive tendering across the AO9 and AO10 programme would establish France as a major European offshore wind market and demonstrate that the combination of price targets, European content requirements and multi-criteria evaluation can deliver both cost-effective renewable energy and industrial policy objectives simultaneously. The convergence of France's offshore wind ambitions, EU Clean Industrial Deal policy support and the growing competitiveness of offshore wind technology creates conditions in which the AO10 programme can contribute meaningfully to France's energy transition while supporting the development of European offshore wind manufacturing and installation capabilities.