Bill on the acceleration of the use of renewable energies in France
Written By
Partner
France
As the partner in charge of our Finance group in France and co-managing partner of our Casablanca office, I advise investment funds, banks, sponsors and public entities on the structuring, award and financing of projects in the energy, infrastructure and automotive sectors in Europe and Africa.
In 2020, France was the only country of the European Union which had not yet met the target of 23% of renewables within its energy mix. As a result, the French president's objective for 2050 is to multiply solar power by ten, to build fifty offshore wind farms and to double the power production from onshore wind turbines.
It is in this context of the energy crisis a draft bill on the acceleration of the use of renewable energies was presented on the 26 September 2022 and passed its first examination by the Senate on 4 November 2022. The bill aims at accelerating the implementation of projects and the production of renewable energies, in particular wind power, photovoltaic panels, and biogas plants, by proposing temporary emergency measures implemented for a period of four years from the promulgation of the law. The scheme would apply to all renewable energy installations.
According to the government, "France is falling behind in the deployment of renewable energy production facilities [...] compared to other European countries [and] it takes an average of five years of procedure to build a solar farm requiring a few months of work, seven years for a wind farm and ten years for an offshore wind farm” while other European countries are often twice as fast.
The bill therefore proposes to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and industrial projects needed for the energy transition. It is structured around three axes: simplification of administrative procedures to fast-track the deployment of projects, mobilisation of abandoned or degraded spaces to increase installations and better sharing the value with the territories. It is important to note that the bill has received a relatively favourable response by industry stakeholders.
To achieve its objectives, the bill proposes the following main measures:
- Simplification of administrative procedures
The bill aims to introduce a simplified amendment procedure for local urban planning documents, to accelerate and simplify the connection of renewable energy production facilities to the distribution networks and to reduce the periods during which appeals can be filed for a maximum of two and a half years (compared to four years today), i.e. a maximum trial period of ten months per instance.
- Release of the necessary land
The bill intends to facilitate the use of artificialized areas or areas that do not present major environmental challenges, in particular through the installation of solar panels along major roads and highways, on coastal wastelands and on parking lots.
- Acceleration of the development of offshore wind
The bill offers to the relevant Ministry the possibility of pooling the public debates for offshore wind farms, to improve the consistency of public participation and creates a new legal regime for artificial islands, floating installations or structures, including floating wind turbines.
- Improvement of the financing and attractiveness of renewable energy projects
According to the bill, another way to accelerate the development of renewable energies is to improve their acceptability by emphasising the distribution of value and economic benefits of renewable installations with local residents living near the facilities and by boosting the development of Power Purchase Agreement with final consumers.
