RTE consulting market ahead of cable tender for post-2033 French offshore wind farms

French transmission system operator (TSO) RTE is conducting market consultation as it is preparing to launch a tender for the long-term supply of underground and subsea 320 kV and 525 kV HVDC cable links for French offshore wind farms that will be commissioned from 2034.

In a notice issued on October 25, RTE says that this preliminary request for information will help determine the TSO’s needs while considering the state of the art and increase the performance of the planned procurement procedure.

For the parties from the market, responding or not responding to the request for information will have no bearing on the actual tender that RTE plans to launch at a later date, according to the TSO’s market consultation notice.

The consultation on onshore and offshore cables is related to the grid connections for offshore wind farms that will go into operation in France starting in 2034.

The procurement RTE plans to launch will be for 320 kV and 525 kV HVDC cable connections and may include additional HVAC/HVDC cable links, HVDC internal projects or future HVDC interconnection projects. The contracts to be signed will be for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) and inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR).

France has set a target of reaching 45 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050, which is expected to account for 20% of the country’s total energy production.

This October, the French government announced plans to launch the tenth call for tenders (AO10) for offshore wind, targeting a total capacity between 8 GW and 10 GW, which would see contracts being awarded by the fall of 2026.

This new call for tenders should make it possible to achieve the objective of 18 GW in service in 2035, the French energy ministry said.