April 27, 2011
France

France set to miss green energy goal

Reuters, www.reuters.com 26 April 2011Reuters, www.reuters.com 26 April 2011

France will miss its 2020 renewable energy target by over a third unless it cuts red tape and raises support to a sector that lags its European neighbors, a renewable energy sector group said on Tuesday.

France set in 2007 an ambitious target to reach 23 percent of green energy in its mix by 2020, over the 20-percent target fixed by the European Union.

The Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables (SER), the country’s largest green energy lobby with 550 members, said that if rules were not changed, 35 percent of the 20 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) targeted for 2020 would be missing.

Jean-Louis Bal, head of the SER, said the group would make new legislative proposals to ensure targets will be met.

“It’s not too late…but it’s now that we need to raise the alarm because if we wait until 2015, then it will be too late,” Bal told reporters at a news briefing.

“There is not enough financial support but that’s not the only issue…there is also a need to lift administrative constraints especially for wind power,” Bal added.

Legal appeals against wind power projects were now almost systematic, delaying projects by two to three years, he added.

France has installed some 6,000 megawatts (MW) in wind power capacity, the equivalent of 4 new-generation nuclear reactors, but the SER argues the country will now need to set up 1,500 MW per year until 2020 to reach its target of 19,000 MW.

Some 1,100 MW in wind power capacity was installed in 2010.

While heating, wind power and biofuels are the main sectors lagging their targets, solar power is expected to reach its target, the SER showed in a document.

The nuclear disaster in Japan last month was the proof that a diversified energy mix was needed, Bal said.

“It’s clear that today we can’t put all our eggs in one basket and need to significantly raise the share of renewable energies in our mix…,” he added.

Reporting by Muriel Boselli and Mathilde Cru; Editing by William Hardy,

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