Offshore wind energy development in France and Germany: what role for territories? Final dissertation

'Pays du Bessin au Virois' is a French association of cities. The association is concerned by projects of offshore wind farms. It wants to think about the consequences of the offshore wind farms on the territory, and the integration in the local activities. For that reason the association wanted to learn from the German experience of offshore development. To compare the French and the German situation, this report raises the question of the relationship between an offshore wind farm and a territory. Thanks to the characteristics of an offshore wind farm and of a territory, I built a method to analyze the relationship between a park and a territory. I studied two cases: the French territory Pays du Bessin au Virois related to the three projects of offshore wind parks in the Baie de Seine, and the German territory Ostfriesland, close to the first offshore wind park in Germany, Alpha Ventus. The two cases showed that important topics could be studied for every territory. There are differences between French and German situation. However the comparison sets on interesting actions for the Pays du Bessin au Virois. Another comparison can be realized with Denmark or United Kingdom, which offshore strategy is closer to the French situation. (author)