€10bn for windfarms

PLANS for five offshore windfarms have been launched as the government asked for tenders for contracts to build up to 600 wind turbines to produce 3GW, the power consumption of 1.75% of the population.

Already French oil services firm Technip has joined Spain’s Iberdrola and French electricity company Areva to bid for the €10 billion contracts.

However, the plans have caused a row as one site, 10km off Courseullessur- Mer is said to be visible from the D-Day beaches. Other sites are at Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime/ Somme; Fécamp, Seine-Maritime; Saint-Brieuc, Côtes d’Armor, and Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique.