France's First Floating Offshore Wind Farm (EFGL) Delivers Electricity to Grid from Gulf of Lion

The EFGL (Eolien Flottant du Golfe du Lion) pilot floating offshore wind farm injected its first megawatt-hours into the French electricity grid on May 5, 2026 — marking a milestone for French offshore wind and for floating wind technology at commercial scale. Operated by Ocean Winds (a 50/50 joint venture between ENGIE and EDP Renewables), EFGL is located 16 kilometers off Port-la-Nouvelle in the Occitanie region's Gulf of Lion. The pilot consists of three 10 MW wind turbines mounted on semi-submersible floating foundations, giving a combined capacity of approximately 30 MW. The project is expected to produce around 110,000 MWh per year, sufficient to power the equivalent of 50,000 residents. Floating offshore wind is a key technology for nations with deep continental shelves (including France, Japan, and the US Pacific Coast) where bottom-fixed foundations are technically or economically infeasible. EFGL serves as a technical demonstration ahead of France's larger planned floating wind zones in the Mediterranean, with commercial-scale floating wind parks of 250–500 MW expected in the early 2030s pending regulatory approval.