Posted on September 25, 2025
GERMANY’S RWE TO LEAVE THE CONSORTIUM
“TotalEnergies is proud to be French and invest in France, but in effect a new PPE is necessary to reassure industry players and launch new tenders,” Isabelle Patrier, head of TotalEnergies France, told journalists at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Separately, Germany’s RWE (RWEG.DE), opens new tab said it had decided to leave the consortium, which will require regulatory approval.
“RWE will not pursue further development of the project. (This) is the result of a comprehensive review of this project in relation to our other project portfolio,” a spokesperson said via email.
The offshore wind award is Total’s first in France, where most previous tenders have gone to state-owned EDF or partially state-owned Engie (ENGIE.PA), opens new tab.
Of Total’s 25 GW of gross renewable capacity, just 2 GW are in France, although that will rise to 4 GW by 2030.
The project represents an investment of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) excluding grid connection costs, Total said, with the tariff set by the state at 66 euros per megawatt-hour, a sharp increase from previous tenders, which Total said reflected a 50% rise in construction costs.
The wind farm would produce six terawatt-hours of electricity annually, supplying the equivalent of one million households, the French government said separately.
Total said it expected to make a final investment decision in early 2029, with power production to begin in 2033.
Patrier said Total was able to build the project alone, but would seek a new partner.
“We don’t imagine not being able to find a new partner if RWE leaves, because we know certain developers are already interested in the project,” she said.
