The European Commission has approved a French state aid scheme worth up to €63 billion to support offshore wind energy. The scheme was cleared under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF), which the Commission adopted on 25 June 2025.
The measure will support the construction and operation of eleven offshore wind farms in the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The projects are expected to reach a combined capacity of up to 11.1 GW and to generate up to 47.8 TWh of renewable electricity per year, equivalent to around 10.6 per cent of France’s annual electricity consumption. The scheme will run for 25 years.
Aid will be granted through a competitive bidding process organised by the French authorities. Support will take the form of a variable premium under a two-way contract for difference (CfD), calculated by comparing a pay-as-bid reference price with the market price for electricity. When the market price falls below the reference price, beneficiaries receive the difference; when it rises above, they pay the difference back to the state. The scheme includes safeguards to keep markets functioning properly, including rules that prevent compensation for production during negative price periods.
The Commission concluded that the scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to accelerate the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. For three of the wind farms, the new scheme replaces support arrangements approved in August 2025.
The decision will be published under case number SA.120604 in the Commission’s State aid register once confidentiality issues have been resolved. While the scheme concerns French waters, competitive two-way CfDs under CISAF are being watched closely across the EU, including by Baltic Sea states preparing their own offshore wind auctions.
