France Unlocks €258.5 Million to Turn Five Ports into Floating Wind Powerhouses as 10 GW Tender Deadline Looms

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The French government has selected five strategic ports to receive €258.5 million in state funding to build the heavy-lift quays, storage yards and assembly infrastructure needed for industrial-scale floating offshore wind, with construction timelines racing to catch a 10 GW tender that closes in October 2026.

ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition, announced the awards on 30 July 2026 under the France 2030 investment programme. The funding is expected to unlock nearly €1 billion in total port infrastructure investment across the Atlantic, English Channel and Mediterranean coastlines. The move supports France’s target of nearly 6 GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2040 and 45 GW of total offshore wind by 2050, equivalent to roughly 20% of national electricity demand.

The announcement lands just weeks after France launched its AO10 tender on 11 June 2026, a combined auction offering 11 projects with just over 10 GW of capacity split equally between 5 GW of fixed-bottom and 5 GW of floating wind. Bids are due by 12 October 2026, with winners expected by late 2026 or early 2027. The government has set a maximum weighted average strike price of €100 per MWh, guaranteed for 25 years under Contracts for Difference.

Marseille-Fos secured the largest single award, €82.3 million, for its DEOS project (Développement de l’Éolien Offshore en Sud). The funding supports infrastructure for constructing, launching and storing floating foundations across 30 hectares of port land, with 400 metres of quay dredged to 17 metres and a 31-hectare floating storage area. The total investment is estimated at €303 million. The port has launched a call for projects to select its first industrial occupant, with a design-and-build tender planned for autumn 2026 and construction expected to begin in early 2028. Phased deliveries are targeted between late 2029 and mid-2030.

Nantes-Saint-Nazaire Port will receive nearly €60 million for its Éole assembly platform. The centrepiece is a 530-metre quay for assembling wind turbines onto floating platforms, sized to accommodate projects with a capacity of approximately 500–600 MW per year. The site will include onshore storage for blades, mast sections and nacelles, plus water-based storage for five floating foundations awaiting assembly. Total investment exceeds €200 million, with construction due to start in 2027 and first operations possible from 2030. The project is part of the port’s 2021–2026 strategic plan and is supported by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and ADEME under France 2030.

BrestPort will receive €58 million for its InFloW project, confirming Brittany’s role as a major floating wind hub. The project includes reinforcement and modification of quays, development of dedicated logistics areas and additional industrial capacity. Brest will act as the heavy assembly platform, while Lorient, 185 km to the south, will serve as an operations and maintenance base close to future wind farms such as the 250 MW Pennavel project. The Brittany Region has already invested over €250 million in its Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) hub. The InFloW hub could generate around 4,000 jobs by 2050 and avoid annual CO₂ emissions of roughly 850,000 tonnes. Nearly 200 companies, mostly SMEs, already operate across the floating wind value chain in Brittany.

Port-la-Nouvelle has been allocated €48 million for its NOUVEOL project, creating a fully integrated industrial platform for the assembly and heavy maintenance of floating wind farms in the French Mediterranean by 2030. In May 2026, Ocean Winds (a joint venture of EDP Renewables and ENGIE) announced first power from its 30 MW Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) pilot farm, France’s first operational floating wind project, assembled at Port-la-Nouvelle. The project uses three 10 MW turbines and is expected to generate 110,000 MWh/year, powering approximately 50,000 inhabitants. The port extension includes a 250-metre heavy-lift quay, a 39-hectare “green pier” dedicated to floating wind, and dredging to –15.9 metres.

Cherbourg will receive €10.5 million for a new heavy-duty quay, Flamands 0, extending the existing Quai des Flamands. The 140–160 metre quay is designed for loads of 15–50 tonnes per square metre. The €30 million total project also includes moving part of the harbour breakwater, extending and strengthening the North Quay, and dredging the area. The additional heavy-duty quay will allow the port to accommodate two projects simultaneously, such as installation hubs or foundation-storage operations. Funding comprises €10.5 million from the government, €18.1 million from marine renewable energy revenue at Cherbourg, and €1.4 million from the Cotentin urban community. A public consultation was held in June–July 2026.

The port funding aligns with France’s much larger 10 GW offshore wind tender (combining previous separate auctions), of which 5 GW is reserved specifically for floating wind, the largest single global commitment to the technology. The tender covers seven maritime zones across Brittany, the Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean. Formal bidding is expected within months, with first contracts likely awarded by late 2026.

France’s previous floating wind tender in late 2024 achieved a tariff of €85.9/MWh. The new tender introduces supply chain resilience criteria from the EU Net Zero Industry Act, with at least 75% of turbine components and 75% of crew transfer vessels required to be sourced and built in Europe.

France currently operates approximately 2 GW of offshore wind, with another 5.6 GW under development. The government aims to reach 15 GW by 2035 under its Third Multiannual Energy Programme (PPE3).