Offshore wind farms in France

This academic report addresses legal aspects related to the development of offshore wind farms in France. The first part addresses the difficulties of this development in relationship with peculiarities of the installation area: issues related to the marine environment (technical constraints, stakes related to sea and littoral law), issues related to sea users (widely used navigation areas, necessary cohabitation with fishing professionals, importance of dialogue and planning). It also addresses the complex legal framework of the installation of offshore wind turbines: application of the conventional legal framework for the selection of a candidate to an industrial project, changing legal framework for the attribution of operation authorisations. The second part discusses the difficulties of exploitation: legal insecurity for the operator at the project design level, for the operator-dealer), and the necessary taking of maritime risks into account when building-up the law of renewable sea energies (maritime safety and security of offshore wind farms, right of workers on offshore installations)