France’s latest offshore wind tender for the Oleron zone has failed to secure any bids, leaving around 1 gigawatt (GW) of planned capacity unallocated, the government confirmed.
The French Ministry for the Energy Transition described the tender, part of the country’s AO7 round, as a “failure” after the application period closed with no offers submitted. “The call for tenders was not the subject of any offer at the end of the application period,” the ministry said in a statement.
No further details were provided regarding the reasons behind the lack of participation or whether the zone will be re-tendered at a later date.
Nine consortia had been pre-qualified for the process, including a partnership between RWE and French renewables developer Valorem, as well as a separate consortium formed by Corio Generation and Qair.
The Oleron project was intended to be built approximately 40 kilometres off the west coast of France, near the island of Oléron, and was scheduled to come online between 2032 and 2033.
The tender’s failure comes despite growing ambitions in France to expand offshore wind capacity as part of its broader energy transition goals. The outcome raises questions about investor appetite under current regulatory or economic conditions.
Officials have not indicated whether changes will be made to the project design or terms before any potential re-launch.
