Orrick is Advising the French State (Ministry of Energy Transition) on the Offshore Wind Farm Project Located off Normandy (Centre Manche 1)

Orrick is advising the French Ministry of Energy Transition (Direction générale de l'énergie et du climat) in the framework of the competitive dialogue bidding procedure for the offshore wind farm project located off the coast of Normandy (Centre Manche 1 Project), a project awarded by ministerial decision dated March 24, 2023 to Eoliennes en Mer Manche Normandie, a project company owned by EDF Renewables and Maple Power.

The Normandy I project (“AO4”) is to date the biggest offshore wind project in France with a capacity of 1GW and an investment cost circa 2 billion euros. This is also the first project located in the French Exclusive Economic Zone, which is a geographical area governed by a specific legal framework under international and French law. The capacity of this farm will represent the consumption of about 800,000 homes. Its commissioning is expected in 2031.

The awarding of this project by the State comes shortly after the entry into force of the law of March 10, 2023 on the acceleration of renewable energy production, which aims in particular, as far as offshore wind is concerned, to promote the planning of projects and their implementation. It is in line with France's objective to reach 40 GW of installed capacity by 2050.

The Orrick team has been involved in the structuring and regulatory aspects of the bidding process and of the project, as well as in the drafting of the documentation and the dialogue with the bidders.

The team is also working alongside the Ministry of Energy Transition on other calls for tender relating to offshore wind farms, both bottom-fixed and floating, launched by the State as part of the Pluriannual Energy Program.

The Orrick team was led by Geoffroy Berthon (Partner, Public Law, Energy & Infrastructure) and included Noël Chahid Nourai (Senior Counsel, Public Law, Energy & Infrastructure), Constance Boillot (Of Counsel, Public Law, Energy & Infrastructure), Janina Dahmouh (Senior Associate, Public Law, Energy & Infrastructure) and Gwendoline Vannarath (Junior Associate, Public Law, Energy & Infrastructure).