Background
Observatory of Marine Energies in France
With the marine energies, France has a formidable opportunity: to give birth to a new industrial sector at the crossroads of blue growth and green growth and to create sustainable jobs, while accelerating its energy transition. Led by the French Maritime Cluster, the Observatory of Marine Energies mission is to build a reliable database on marine energies in France.
Below is a summary of the 2021 edition based on a questionnaire sent to 480 companies identified as having an interest in marine energy. These data are without extrapolation.
Key figures for 2020
- 4,859 direct jobs in 2020 with an increase of 1,794 FTEs (+ 59%) compared to 2019, with 37% for the Pays de la Loire Region
- € 833 million in turnover with 71% on the domestic market
- € 1.5 billion invested in 2020, an increase of 222%
Source : Observatoire des EMR
A spectacular increase in employment
The increase in the number of jobs observed in 2020 (+1 794 FTEs, + 59%) is mainly concentrated in the category of service providers and suppliers of the value chain (+1 669 FTEs or 92% of the overall increase) and to a lesser extent among developer-operators. With nearly 4,000 jobs, service providers and suppliers in the value chain now represent 82% of total employment in the sector (compared to 70% in 2018), testifying to the accentuation of its industrial character over the course of recent years and its establishment in the territories.
Source : Observatoire des EMR
The construction of the first three offshore wind farms in France and their connection, the source of an investment boom
The construction of an offshore wind farm and its connection requires colossal investments and this is evident in the figures for this year. In fact, the amounts committed by developer-operators exceeded one billion euros for the first time (+ € 938 million over one year), testifying to the effective deployment of offshore wind located off the French coasts.
Bottom-fixed and Floating Offshore Wind concentrate most of the jobs.
Compared to 2019, all technologies have seen the number of employees dedicated to them increase, with the exception of tidal, which experienced a very slight decline (-4 FTEs). Unsurprisingly, bottom-fixed offshore wind, the technology used for the 3 wind farms under construction at Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Brieuc and Fécamp, is experiencing the greatest dynamics. With an increase of nearly 1,400 FTEs (+ 82%), this technology mobilizes more than 3,000 FTEs for the first time. Floating Offshore Wind, a technology at the dawn of the first pilot farms and a commercial call for tenders in France and already being deployed by a few units abroad, is also experiencing a significant increase to reach 635 FTE (+227 FTE in one year, + 56%).
Source : Observatoire des EMR
The host regions for future farms, major beneficiaries in terms of employment
The increase in employment observed nationally concerns the vast majority of regions. Those directly concerned by the construction of commercial farms are experiencing the most significant changes.
Source : Observatoire des EMR
Pays de la Loire, 1st Region for MRE employment
- Dynamic manufacturers already involved in the sector, through:
- The presence of Large Groups and mid-sized companies positioned for domestic and export via the Grand Port Maritime de Nantes Saint-Nazaire (GE Renewable Energy for offshore wind turbines and nacelles, Chantiers de l’Atlantique for electrical substations in particular , ROLLIX for nacelle drive crowns and wind turbine blades, …)
- the activities of SMEs, often spin-offs from Research centers and Labs, in the fields of design engineering (CETEAL, D-ICE Engineering, INNOSEA, etc.), or in the fields of characterization of the energy resource at sea (AKROCEAN, …) and impacts (BIOTOPE, CREOCEAN, NEREIS, OCEAN ZOOM, …)
- A dynamic ecosystem of Research, Innovation, and Training, namely WEAMEC, whose partners operate or have operated more than 500 projects for more than 120 M € over the last 5 years.
