Sectors

The energy transition is leading to a major acceleration in the development of Marine Renewable Energy (MRE), from bottom fixed and floating wind power to the emergence of new competitive MRE technologies.

The role of offshore test sites in support of these technologies must be defined in a differentiated way for the different sectors, according to their specific needs

Bottom fixed offshore wind

With around 50 GW of installed capacity worldwide by the end of 2021, wind power has reached commercial maturity. Innovation is essentially incremental. Testing and certification of new turbine models is already underway in Europe (Osterild Wind Turbine Test Field in Denmark, Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands).

Floating offshore wind

In a dozen years, floating wind power has gone from the stage of the first prototypes to the stage of commercial calls for tenders. Several pilot farms have been commissioned in recent years, especially in Europe with Hywind Scotland (UK), WindFloat Atlantic (Portugal) and Kincardine (UK).  In France, three pilot farm projects are in the pre-construction/construction phase in the Mediterranean and a fourth is in the engineering phase in Southern Brittany. These initiatives are world firsts, confirming the place that France wishes to take in this technology.

The rapid development of this highly innovative sector must be supported by massive efforts in research, development and innovation, in order to continuously improve the competitiveness of the sector and promote its socio-environmental integration.

Other MRE sectors: tidal energy, wave energy, offshore hydrogen production, floating photovoltaics...

The other MRE sectors are at a more preliminary stage of development, with a still very broad technological spectrum. However, interesting milestones have been reached in recent years and there is a real potential for testing these technologies.