Onshore wind power: competitive, but the renewal of wind farms risks quickly reaching its limits

Thirty-nine onshore wind projects were selected in the latest public tender, more than half of which concern park renewal projects, a government priority but one which risks reaching its limits due to specific constraints in France.

The long-awaited tender was oversubscribed almost three times, proof of the competition that now characterizes the sector with the need to renew some of the oldest parks through "repowering", which makes it possible to increase their power while reducing the number of masts.

In total, 144 applications had been submitted for a cumulative capacity of 2377,90 megawatts (MW), announced the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC).

The selected projects represent a cumulative capacity of 808,02 MW and a weighted average price of 77,08 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), a significant decrease compared to the last tenders, all around 86 to 87 euros.

Engie and EDF won a significant share of the projects in this "PPE2 Wind Power" tender, which closed on May 21, 2026.

"This period was marked by very strong subscriptions," the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) emphasized in its deliberations. "Repowering" projects "are currently, on average, already more competitive than other projects," it noted.

According to the energy regulator, the decrease in the weighted average price is justified "mainly due to strong competition and the application of a large proportion of repowering projects, which are particularly competitive".

Samuel Renard, Engie's managing director in charge of renewable energies in France, considers the results of the tender "somewhat misleading." "I would be very surprised if this trend continues," he commented during a press briefing.

"Because the projects that have been presented are the best projects," he explained, but also because of the significant constraints in France, particularly civil and military radar which "prevent us from increasing the height of wind turbines" beyond 130 to 150 meters.

Today, the "small turbines that were installed in the years 2005-2010 are no longer available on the market," which now only offers larger wind turbines.

According to Engie, approximately 400 MW of installed capacity is at risk by 2030, a "significant" level. The group has 2,5 gigawatts of installed capacity in France.

These projects "will simply, probably, be dismantled," he estimated.