France gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the building of its first offshore windfarm as part of an effort to diversify national energy sources in the face of high petrol costs.
The 105 megawatt electricity project will be built seven km off the north coast of France. "In order to reduce our dependence on petrol, diversify our sources of energy and strengthen our fight against the impact of greenhouse gases, France has fixed its objectives and an ambitious calender to develop renewable energy," the Industry Ministry said in a statement. The statement did not name participants in the project.