France opens tender for pilot tidal,wave power projects

France’s Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) announced today the start of a tender offer for pilot tidal and wave power projects.

The call will finance pilot projects and key technologies in the field of marine energy and underwater turbines divided in three batches, ADEME explained in the tender description.

The first batch calls for innovative demonstration projects for underwater tidal turbines and wave energy converters. Eligible devices should have a projected annual output of over 250 MWh.

The second batch seeks proposals for critical technological components for the development of renewable energy at sea. These include electrical equipment, anchoring, floating structures or innovative ways for installation, power take-off and so on. The components have to be applicable in either tidal, wave or floating wind turbine designs.

Batch number three calls for the development of pilot power plants using tidal turbines to extract energy from run of river or tidal estuarine sites. The projects must have at least five turbines with minimum nameplate capacity of each unit of 30 kW.

The deadline for submission will be March 20, 2017 with two intermediary closures on January 25, 2016 and September 19, 2016.

Batch 3 will close on January 25,2016.

The tender will be financed under the "Investments for the Future" programme (PIA), a ten-year plan launched in 2010 to support research and innovation in France, as well as through feed-in tariff mechanism.

France is also expected to soon announce the terms for a tender for pilot offshore wind projects with floating turbines. The French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy has already designated four areas for the future development of the pilot projects.

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