"It is the champions League of offshore wind." That's how a player in the sector commented on the competition that will be intensified to equip the field of Dunkirk (North) of several hundreds of megawatts. Friday, consortia in the fray submitted their dossier to the Commission of energy regulation, responsible for appraising tenders. The policeman of the sector must do so within a period of 8 weeks: once he has selected the winner, dependent on the ministry of the ecological Transition to formalize the verdict. It is to be understood that the ministry is not constrained in the time to communicate the results.

According to recurrent, there are eight consortia that have submitted their folder. All the major european energy companies are present, driving strong groupings: EDF is a partner in the canadian Enbridge, Engie with the Portuguese EDP, while the Swedish Vattenfall has been working with the German WPD. To mention only a few of the teams in the competition.

compared to the first wave of calls for tenders in offshore wind by 2012, the situation has changed a lot. On the technological front in particular, the machines have made a lot of progress. In 2012, the power unit of machines did not exceed 6 megawatts (MW). This time, it is on of the facilities of 10 MW or more. In recent years, the competitiveness of offshore wind farms has increased significantly: in 2012, the redemption price of electricity generated off the coast exceeded 200 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh). We do not yet know the content of the bid submitted Friday, but they must oscillate between 50 and 70 euros per MWh. Another significant change: the pack of competitors, a lot more fleshed out than during the competitions inaugural.

The battle of Dunkirk allows you to highlight a supply chain that offshore wind that feels mistreated by the multi-annual Programming of energy, the roadmap to the public authorities over the period 2018-2028. The professionals call for tenders scheduled for an annual average of 1 000 MW approximately. However, the current trajectory does not exceed 500 MW.