The average price at France’s third onshore wind tender edged down to €63.00 ($71.13) per megawatt hour as the government awarded 516MW across 21 projects.

That was down from €65.40/MWh and €68.70/MWh at the country’s first two auctions for wind power on land.

“The development of onshore wind energy is a pillar of France's energy and climate strategy and a key lever for decarbonising energy production and achieving the goal of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said François de Rugy, France’s minister for ecologic and solidary transition.

The onshore wind tenders are part of France’s plan to boost the renewable energy share in its energy mix to 32% by 2030.

France in its latest ten-year energy plan included regular onshore auctions that are meant to gradually expand to 2GW per year, in order to reach a target of 34.1-35.6GW by 2028, up from 15.1GW in 2018.

A fourth 500MW onshore auction is planned for August.

Wind developments on land in France have been slowed down, though, by a recent paralysis of environmental permits, leading to an under-subscription of the country’s second onshore wind auction in September.

French wind power federation FEE said the tender result shows the competitiveness of onshore wind despite administrative instability triggered by the uncertainty about environmental permits.

"At each new stage, the French wind turbine wins the battle for competitiveness and demonstrates its indisputable contribution to the evolution of clean energy production in our country and to our security of supply," FEE president Olivier Perot said.

In offshore wind, the country’s prime minister Edouard Philippe has just said the government plans to double its ambitions to 1GW per year after bids in the latest round at Dunkirk confirmed steep cost reductions.

UPDATED with comment by the French wind federation FEE