(Bloomberg) -- France unveiled plans to expand offshore wind in a bid to catch up with neighboring nations and accelerate progress toward climate targets.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced a series of tenders and incentives during a visit to Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast. It’s part of plans to raise offshore wind capacity sixfold by 2035, a significant ramp-up for an industry that’s struggled with soaring costs and supply-chain constraints in recent years.

“We want to accelerate deployment,” Le Maire said Thursday after the sail-away ceremony of an offshore substation. “The more we deploy wind farms at sea, the more competitive their energy will be and the more independent we’ll be.”

Governments are realizing they need to do more to support an industry they consider vital to combating climate change. France, whose offshore wind capacity lags behind Germany and the UK, is targeting 18 gigawatts by 2035 and 45 gigawatts by midcentury — meeting a fifth of electricity demand. It currently has just 3 gigawatts of marine wind farms in operation or under construction.

Le Maire opened a tender for two 250-megawatt floating wind parks in the Mediterranean Sea. The results of this round 6 tender will be announced by the end of the year, according to the minister.

The ministry also unveiled a provisional timetable for future auctions:

The winner of the round 5 tender for a 250-megawatt floating wind farm off Brittany will be announced in coming days, Le Maire said. The preferred bidder recently dropped out, meaning the government is now working with the runner-up, a ministerial aide told reporters, without elaborating.

Among government incentives is a plan to cut the red tape that delays grid connections and to shorten proceedings for future tenders. There’ll also be a focus on French equipment to “defend national interests,” Le Maire said, praising a €4.5 billion ($4.8 billion) contract signed Thursday to build three offshore substations at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard.

Read More:

  • France to Aid Europe’s Solar Panel Makers to Cut China Dominance
  • Political Rift Forces France to Drop Law for Energy Targets

(Updates with timetable of future tenders from sixth paragraph.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.