The European Commission (EC) approved support for four pilot floating offshore wind farms in France, the EC announced in a statement on Monday.
'The European Commission has found four French projects promoting electricity generation from renewable wind energy sources to be in line with EU State aid rules,' the statement said, adding that the measures will further contribute to reach EU energy and climate goals without unduly distorting competition in the single market.
The wind farms will receive both investment aid and operating aid and part of the investment aid will be paid in the form of repayable advances, according to the statement.
'The level of aid granted to the four projects is proportionate and will avoid overcompensation for the beneficiaries of the public support', the EC said.
As part of the European Energy Renewable Energy Directive adopted in 2009, France aims to increase its renewable energy share in gross final energy consumption to 23 percent by 2020.
'The projects aim to contribute to reaching that target,' the EC said.
The four wind farms will each have three to four 24-megawatt turbines, according to the Commission.
The interconnected turbines will be installed in the sea on floaters and will be connected to land through an underwater cable.
The Groix Belle Ile project will be located in the Atlantic Ocean, while the other three projects - Golf du Lion, Eolmed, and Provence Grand Large, will be located in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Commission explained that each of the four pilot wind farms would use a particular combination of turbine, floater and cables.
'The objective of the public support is to test these different technological solutions, with the long-term goal to test this technology before deploying it on a larger scale,' it concluded.
By Ebru Sengul
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr