France states ocean energy objectives

The strategy is part of the French ‘energy transition’ plan, which has been under development since 2009.

Welcoming the publication of the objectives by the French authorities, Jacopo Moccia, Ocean Energy Europe policy director, said: “The French have now fully quantified their ambitions for ocean energy.

“With the first tidal demonstration projects at the Raz Blanchard expected to kick-off in the next couple of years, the ocean energy industry and investors, now, have some visibility on where the French ocean energy market is going in the short and medium-term,” he added.

Mr Moccia told GreenPort that numerous improvements have already been made and further investments are planned in the key marine energy ports, specifically Brest in Brittany and Cherbourg in Normandy.

“The port of Brest is being geared up to become a “reference” port for offshore renewables, with investments of around €220m and the port of Cherbourg is investing around €100m to strengthen its capabilities,” he said.

“These ports are near the five main tidal energy sites that are expected to be developed over the coming years, starting with the Raz-Blanchard (Normandy). Also, in a slightly longer term perspective, many wave energy sites may also be developed in France, some of which would be easily reachable from these ports,” he added.