The European Commission has given the green light for plans to build six new offshore wind farms in France.

Each of the wind farms will consist of 62 to 83 turbines, with an installed capacity of 450MW to 498MW per project and will receive support under the government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme over 20 years.

The construction of the wind farms – Courselles-sur-Mer, Fécamp, Saint-Nazaire, Iles d’Yeu/Noirmoutier, Dieppe/Le Tréport and Saint-Brieuc – will start this year and are expected to be operational by 2022.

The Commission said the projects are in line with EU energy and climate goals and will help reduce carbon emissions in France.

It added: “The Commission has concluded that the measures will encourage the development of renewable energy and will help France meet its climate targets, without unduly distorting competition.”