The growing wind power sector in France
France's wind industry has experienced constant growth over the past few years. Indeed, France’s wind energy production capacity has increased by more than six times between 2008 and 2022, from three to approximately 21 gigawatts. There are significant geographic disparities in wind electricity production in France. The regions of Upper France and Great East produced almost half of the national production in 2022, with 5.7 and 4.6 gigawatts connected to the electricity grid, respectively.Despite the growing size of France’s renewable energy sector, the country missed its 2020 renewable energy target of 23 percent and was forced to level up its efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. As of 2023, the forecast electricity capacity of wind energy was set at 35 gigawatts for onshore plants and four gigawatts for offshore plants by 2030.
Onshore and offshore wind energy
Onshore wind farms account for the largest installed wind energy capacity in France, with over 20 gigawatts in 2022. By comparison, the capacity of offshore wind turbines was only 480 gigawatts as of October 2023, generated in the plant on Saint-Nazaire in the Atlantic-Loire region. In December 2023, the wind plant of Saint-Brieuc started operation in the region of Brittany, adding 496 megawatts to the country’s offshore wind energy production capacity. Over the last years, France has had several rounds of calls for tenders, awarding eight wind power plants. Other projects will be awarded over the next years.Among the wind turbine operators, the utility company Engie, headquartered in France, accounted for the largest capacity, with a total of three gigawatts installed in 2023. In terms of wind turbine construction, the Denmark-based company Vestas and GE Renewable Energy – the French division of the parent company General Electric – were the country’s leaders in the onshore and offshore wind energy sector, respectively.
