Ocean Winds (wind energy) has announced that its Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion floating offshore wind farm has reached full power off the coast of southern France, marking a significant milestone for the floating offshore wind industry and establishing what the company describes as the world's first nature-inclusive floating wind farm to enter operation.

A Landmark Moment for Floating Wind

The 30 MW EFGL wind farm, located 16 kilometers off the Occitanie coast in the Northern-West Mediterranean Sea, reached full power. The announcement was made from Port-La Nouvelle, the port city that serves as the project's operations and maintenance base.

The project represents Ocean Winds' second floating wind project globally and its second project in France, following the Yeu-Noirmoutier bottom-fixed wind farm, known as EMYN, which has a capacity of 500 MW.

Ocean Winds is the international offshore wind energy company created by EDP Renewables and ENGIE. The company holds a majority shareholding in EFGL, which was developed in partnership with Banque des Territoires.

Craig Windram, CEO at Ocean Winds, said the milestone reflects the company's long-term commitment to floating offshore wind technology. "Floating offshore wind will play a critical role in the future energy mix, particularly in countries with deep coastal waters such as France.

EFGL reaching full power reflects Ocean Winds' long-term vision and our ability to deliver complex floating projects safely and efficiently, in close collaboration with national, regional, and local stakeholders across the entire value chain."

Project Design and Technical Configuration

The EFGL wind farm consists of three 10 MW turbines installed on semi-submersible floaters. The choice of semi-submersible technology is suited to the deeper waters of the Mediterranean, where traditional bottom-fixed offshore wind installations are not viable.

Ocean Winds has positioned the project as a pilot facility intended to set standards and best practices for commercial floating offshore wind deployments in comparable marine environments.

The farm is now expected to generate around 110,000 MWh per year of clean energy. According to Ocean Winds, that output is sufficient to power the equivalent of approximately 50,000 inhabitants annually, and the project is designed to operate for the next 20 years.

Marc Hirt, Country Manager for France at Ocean Winds, emphasized the broader significance of the project reaching this operational stage. "EFGL is a concrete demonstration that floating offshore wind is no longer a future concept, but an operational reality in France.

This project showcases the expertise developed across the French and European supply chain and confirms the strategic role the Mediterranean can play in the next phase of offshore wind development."

Local Supply Chain and Economic Impact

Ocean Winds has highlighted the project's strong reliance on regional and national suppliers as a defining feature of its development approach. According to the company, 99 percent of direct suppliers involved in EFGL are European, with 85 percent of those being French companies or France-based companies. Of that group, 60 percent are small and medium-sized enterprises.

The project is now supporting more than 20 local workers from a dedicated operations and maintenance base that Ocean Winds constructed in Port-La Nouvelle.

The company says the base is being used to monitor energy production and carry out maintenance activities, and it characterizes the facility as establishing long-term economic activity in the port city.

The emphasis on local supply chain engagement is presented by the company not only as a contribution to regional economic development but also as a model for how future commercial-scale floating wind projects in France and elsewhere might be structured.

Marine Biodiversity Innovation

Among the technical and environmental features that distinguish EFGL, Ocean Winds has drawn particular attention to the project's integration of artificial marine habitats.

The wind farm incorporates Biohut technology, a product designed by Ecocean, a local small and medium-sized enterprise. The inclusion of these artificial habitats is the basis for Ocean Winds' claim that EFGL is the world's first nature-inclusive floating wind farm to ever operate worldwide.

The company described the combination of advanced engineering innovations with marine biodiversity protection measures as a deliberate design decision, one intended to demonstrate that offshore wind development can be undertaken in a way that actively supports rather than degrades marine ecosystems.

Contribution to France's Offshore Wind Ambitions

Ocean Winds has framed the EFGL project as directly contributing to its broader operational capabilities and to France's offshore wind development trajectory.

The company indicated that lessons and production data from the pilot farm will be used to set further optimization standards for commercial-scale floating wind deployment both in France and internationally.

The Mediterranean has historically been considered a challenging environment for offshore wind development due to its deep waters, which prevent the use of conventional fixed-foundation turbines. EFGL's move to full operational status positions the region as a viable frontier for the next wave of offshore wind expansion, according to Ocean Winds.

The project's completion adds to the growing body of operating floating offshore wind installations globally, a sector that has been closely watched as a potential solution for unlocking offshore wind resources in deep-water markets that have so far remained largely inaccessible to the technology.

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