Golfe de Gascogne Sud was a candidate offshore wind zone in France's Bay of Biscay (Sud-Atlantique façade), originally identified as a prospective AO10 site under the PPE3 programme. The site was NOT included in the final 11-project AO10 / Procédure de Mise en Concurrence n°1/2026 cahier des char...
Golfe de Gascogne Sud was dropped from the AO10 cohort when the final cahier des charges rectificatif vCRE was published on 21 April 2026. The cahier limits the merged AO10 / Procédure de Mise en Concurrence n°1/2026 to 11 projects in Normandie (Fécamp Grand Large, 3 lots), Bretagne (Bretagne Nord Ouest and Bretagne-Sud 2), Charente-Maritime (Oléron 1), and Golfe du Lion (3 lots) plus the ex-AO9 Mediterranean floating sites Narbonnaise Sud-Hérault 2 and Golfe de Fos 2. Golfe de Gascogne Sud (Bay of Biscay) is not in this list and has no near-term path to award; the site is now on hold pending inclusion in AO11 or another successor procedure under PPE3.
On 17 April 2026, the news archive of the “Eoliennes en mer” website recorded an item titled “Lancement du 10ème appel d'offres éolien en mer” (“Launch of the 10th offshore wind tender”), with a link offering “Toutes les informations sur la procédure” (all information on the procedure). This entry indicates that the competitive procurement process for the 10th offshore wind tender (AO10), which includes the Golfe de Gascogne Sud area, was formally launched on that date, opening the tender procedure to potential developers.
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AO10 Bay of Biscay, AO10 South Atlantic, AO10 Sud-Atlantique, AO10 zone Sud-Atlantique
On 2 April 2026, the French Government announced its intention to merge the ongoing AO9 and upcoming AO10 offshore wind auctions into a single, simplified tender procedure offering about 10 GW of capacity (roughly 5 GW fixed-bottom and 5 GW floating) across all French maritime facades. This reconfigured auction framework, later reflected on the official AO10 tender webpage, means that the AO10 Sud-Atlantique (Golfe de Gascogne Sud, 1.2 GW) zone will be awarded as part of a large combined round with first winners expected by late 2026 or early 2027.
In 2025, a suite of baseline technical studies was completed and made available for the Golfe de Gascogne offshore wind zone, providing a comprehensive assessment of wind, metocean, and seabed conditions relevant to future floating wind projects. Meteorological work by Météo France included a 2025 report on usual wind-related risks ("Rapport Etude d’évaluation des risques usuels liés au vent 2025") and a 2025 report analysing storms and extreme waves ("Rapport Analyse des tempêtes et des vagues extrêmes 2025"). Oceanographic baseline syntheses prepared by SHOM covered tides, currents, and swell ("Synthèse état de connaissance initiale - Marée 2025", "Courants 2025", "Houle 2025"). Hydrographic syntheses further documented initial knowledge on bathymetry, anthropogenic elements, and hydrology for 2025. Complementary seabed characterisation was provided through sedimentology and morpho-sedimentary survey analysis, via the 2025 sedimentology baseline synthesis and the 2025 morpho-sedimentary survey analysis report. Together, these studies constitute a coordinated resource and site-knowledge assessment, establishing the metocean and seabed baseline required for early development of the Golfe de Gascogne Sud floating offshore wind projects.
The French Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) opened a public consultation on proposals for the AO10 offshore wind call for tenders, covering 8.4–9.2 GW including a floating wind project of around 1.2 GW on the South Atlantic coast corresponding to the AO10 Sud‑Atlantique zone. The consultation, which runs until 4 April 2025, seeks stakeholder input on plot configuration (single 2 GW vs. two ~1 GW projects with shared connection), locations, commissioning targets, overall timelines, and safeguards to prevent a single bidder from winning all tenders, ahead of launching the competitive procedure and awarding projects by the end of 2026.
On 24 March 2025, the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) launched a public consultation on proposals for France’s tenth offshore wind tender (AO10), targeting the award of 8.4–9.2 GW of capacity by the end of 2026. The consultation document specifies that AO10 will include a floating wind project of around 1.2 GW on the South Atlantic coast, located in areas previously designated as priority zones by the 17 October 2024 ministerial decision, with projects expected to enter service around 2035.
Following the national public debate on maritime planning, the French government’s ministerial decision signed on 17 October 2024 identified the “Golfe de Gascogne Sud” area, with a planned capacity of 1.2 GW, as a priority offshore wind zone. This South Atlantic zone was explicitly linked to the AO10 tender, with the RTE planning documents describing it as one of two additional offshore wind parks (Golfe de Gascogne Sud for AO10 and Nord for AO11), and indicating a commissioning horizon around 2035.
On 17 October 2024, the French ministry in charge of energy signed a ministerial decision concluding the national debate "La mer en débat" and adopting the cartography of priority maritime zones for offshore wind, including the Atlantic facade. This decision designates the 1.2 GW "Golfe de Gascogne Sud" area as a priority zone to be integrated into the first competitive procedure AO10, with an indicative commissioning horizon around 2035, thereby formally anchoring the AO10 Sud-Atlantique project in the national offshore wind planning framework.
The official Eoliennes en mer page for the Golfe de Gascogne zone lists a key project milestone indicating that a public debate ("Débat public") under the aegis of the CNDP was held for the Golfe de Gascogne offshore wind area, which includes the future floating wind projects in Golfe de Gascogne Sud. The consultation period ran from 20 November 2023 to 26 April 2024, with a dedicated debate website referenced. Following the closure of the debate, the page notes publication of the Compte‑rendu de la CPDP and the Bilan de la CNDP, documenting the outcomes of this consultation process.
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