IN Brief:
- Escofi secured awards for five northern French wind projects with a combined proposed capacity of 102.25MW.
- France selected 63 projects totalling 1,006.21MW from 171 applications seeking support for 2,723.67MW.
- The awards provide 20-year remuneration arrangements beginning at commercial operation; the projects are not yet generating under the new contracts.
Escofi, the French wind developer owned by Econergy, has secured long-term electricity remuneration awards for five planned onshore projects with a combined capacity of 102.25MW. The developments were selected in the twelfth round of France’s PPE2 onshore wind tender, which provides a 20-year support framework beginning when each installation enters commercial operation. The result covers projects in northern France and adds contracted future capacity to the developer’s existing wind portfolio.
The five successful schemes are Camp Thibault, at 16.8MW; Colzas, at 25.55MW; Flot, at 13.5MW; Bertaignemont, at 19.2MW; and Bronne Sans Souci, at 27.2MW. Their combined ratings amount to just over a tenth of the capacity awarded nationally in this tender round. Escofi has described the developments as being at advanced stages, although winning a support contract does not establish that turbine installation, electrical connection or commissioning has been completed at any of the sites.
Competition for the awards was substantial. The French authorities received 171 applications covering 2,723.67MW against a procurement target of 1,000MW, according to renewable-energy adviser Envinergy’s analysis of the published results. A total of 63 projects were selected, representing 1,006.21MW. The awarded capacity was approximately 37% of the capacity proposed in applications, giving an indication of how much development activity was competing for the available long-term revenue support.
Envinergy estimates that Escofi secured the largest single allocation, at 10.2% of the total. Q ENERGY followed with 93.72MW across five projects, and wpd France secured 92.55MW, also across five. TotalEnergies, including Groupe VSB, and EDF power solutions were among the other major recipients. The five largest groups together accounted for approximately 45% of the capacity selected, compared with 56% in the tenth tender round, while 26 developer groups shared the latest 63 awards.
The successful bids carried an auction-wide weighted average reference price of €78.57/MWh, up from €77.28/MWh in the preceding round. Those figures describe the results across all selected projects; they are not disclosed individual contract prices for the five Escofi schemes. The average provides a benchmark for the latest procurement but cannot, on its own, establish the revenue that any one wind farm will earn from electricity sales or support payments.
France’s complément de rémunération arrangements support renewable generators alongside their sales into the wholesale electricity market. Broadly, remuneration is calculated by reference to an agreed tariff and a defined market-price benchmark, with payments governed by the applicable contract terms. The mechanism gives developers greater long-term revenue visibility than uncontracted wholesale exposure while preserving the need to operate generating equipment and sell the electricity it produces. The twenty-year periods awarded to Escofi begin with commercial operation, rather than the date of the tender results.
Development and connection work will consequently determine when that revenue support becomes available. Each wind farm requires the necessary environmental and planning authorisations, an agreed grid connection, electrical installation and commissioning. Turbine foundations, access arrangements and lifting operations must be coordinated with the collection cables, transformers, switchgear and protection systems that carry electricity from the machines towards the public network. Specific turbine suppliers, export voltages and commissioning dates for these five awards were not confirmed in the latest company information reviewed.
Electrical output from an onshore wind farm varies with wind conditions and equipment availability. Power electronics, transformer arrangements and network protection must accommodate changes in production while meeting the relevant grid-code requirements at the connection point. A project’s megawatt capacity is therefore a rating of its installed generating equipment, not a prediction of continuous output. The 102.25MW announced in this award will translate into delivered electricity only after the individual projects complete their remaining engineering and operational stages.
The November result builds on an earlier round of awards for three Escofi wind projects totalling approximately 46MW, announced in August. Across those two tender outcomes, the developer now has support awards associated with about 148MW at eight sites. Econergy has forecast annual revenues from the supported portfolio once the plants become operational, but the eventual amount will depend on commissioning dates, production and the contracts’ remuneration calculations. The newly awarded 102.25MW should not be counted as additional electricity currently available to the French grid.
Econergy entered the French onshore wind market through its acquisition of Escofi in 2026. The acquired company had a portfolio spanning operating assets, construction projects and developments at earlier stages. The five latest awards strengthen the contractual position of selected projects within that business rather than demonstrating that the wider portfolio has all been built. Econergy chief executive Eyal Podhorzer attributed the result to the French development team’s success in securing awards for all five of its submitted projects.
The next material milestones will be the remaining project approvals, equipment and construction contracts, grid connection works and the commissioning of each wind farm. The latest tender has allocated support for a substantial volume of prospective French onshore generation, including Escofi’s five sites, but the increase in actual power-system capacity will follow the physical delivery of those projects. Their operating dates and individual realised production figures have not yet been established in the information released with the awards.
