France to stick with wind power development targets

Published On : 10/02/2024

PARIS (Reuters) – France is aiming for a target growth rate of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) per year in onshore wind power, Energy minister Olga Givernet said on Wednesday, which would be in line with the previous government’s renewable energy policy goals.

In the run up to parliamentary elections in the summer, the far-right National Rally (RN) made stopping wind power a feature of their election campaign, and also promised to “gradually dismantle” existing wind parks. The RN suffered a setback in the vote, with a leftist alliance taking the top spot, but no group getting a majority.

New Prime Minister Michel Barnier said on Wednesday that the government intended to pursue nuclear power and renewable energy development, while better measuring all their impacts – particularly in wind power – saying that planning work would resume immediately.

Givernet said the government would target having 45 GW of offshore wind power in service by 2050, and said a map of priority areas for its development would be announced soon, with a call for tenders by early 2025.

France produces nearly 70% of its electricity supply from nuclear reactors, and lags other European countries in renewable supply development due to difficult permit processes.

The wind power development plan sticks to the goals announced by the previous government, whose multi-year energy plan was hampered by a lack of an absolute majority in France’s National Assembly. It was previously planned for 2023.

The previous iteration of the plan aimed for an onshore wind supply development rate of 1.5 GW per year, with a “more balanced distribution” and an installed capacity of 33 to 35 GW by 2030, up from 22 GW at the end of 2023.

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet, writing by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Jane Merriman)

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