History, State-of-the-Art, and Futureof Wind Energy in France

France is known to have the second highest wind energy potential of all European countries, just after the British Islands. Moreover, its very specific geographical location, at the junction of three quite different wind regime areas (Atlantic Ocean, European Mainland, and Mediterranean Sea), basically ensures a high level of “guaranteed power”, estimated by the RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Électricité) at around 30% of the nominal power, provided a distribution of wind farms is sufficiently balanced among the three areas.Based on this exceptional situation, the independent energy expert think-tank “Association négaWatt” in the publication (September 2011)1 considered their “2050 energy scenario” that wind energy alone could provide 56% of the total electricity needs,

thanks to about 76 GW installed, divided into 48 onshore, 8 coastal offshore, and 20 floating offshore producing more than 190 TWh per year.