Energy transition: photovoltaics put forward by the ENR in France

The "European Energy Network" (EnR) working group deals with renewable energies as a part of their strategies for industrial and territorial development. It recently published sixty suggestions for the future in which solar energy plays a major role.

The working group "Which renewable energy options and which industrial and territorial development strategy" presented its report to the National Council for the debate on the energy transition. It contains about sixty proposals concerning all sectors, including photovoltaics. The SER is satisfied with the main measures.

As part of the national debate on the energy transition, the "Renewable Energies" working group has just submitted its report to the National Debate Council (CNDTE). After about ten sessions that brought together the 65 participants in this group, a set of 60 measures was proposed. Among them, the group proposes to set a new very ambitious objective for photovoltaics: to reach 15 or even 25 GW instead of 5.4 GW expected in 2020!

The about sixty proposals put forward received the support of a majority of the members of the working group. Some of them concern all sectors, such as the request to simplify administrative procedures (requested by wind, photovoltaic or geothermal energy), industrial development or increased support in the French overseas departments. Other measures are more specific, relating to specific sectors: here again, photovoltaics is concerned with the increase in eligibility for the tariff for installations with a power less than or equal to 250 kWp, which have so far been subject to a tendering system. The report also proposes doubling the Ademe Chaleur fund or creating a biomass mobilisation fund (wood energy).

Get ready for 2020

"The working group focused mainly on policies and measures to best develop renewable energy production and its sectors," the document states. Because the objective, recalled by the report, is to achieve the figures forecast for the end of the decade: "First, it is a question of providing the necessary momentum to achieve the objectives of the energy-climate package by 2020, which still requires a considerable effort to develop the share of renewable energies in final consumption from 13.4% (end 2011) to 23% (2020)".

Not surprisingly, the Renewable Energy Union expressed its satisfaction with the measures in the report. Jean-Louis Bal, states: "It is of the utmost urgency to be there in 2020. This date is an essential step. By this time, France must have developed strong industrial sectors that provide jobs and growth so that the companies present on its territory can meet new and more ambitious objectives. According to the SER, new forms of energy would be an asset for the country in environmental, societal and economic terms. It remains to be seen what measures will actually be adopted by the CNDTE and whether their implementation will be effective in time.

Source: batiactu.com