Brussels, 19/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - The price at which EDF buys electricity generated by wind turbines is close to a state intervention price, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday 19 December, thus dealing a serious blow to the price of electricity generated by wind power in France. France's obligation to buy the electricity produced by wind turbines at a tariff that is higher than the market price falls within the concept of an intervention by the state through state resources, the EU Court of Justice states in essence, in a judgment delivered on Thursday 19 December (Case C-84/12). The matter had been brought before the Court by French opponents to wind power, including the association Vent De Colère, that campaigns against wind turbines. That association had attacked the tariff set in place in 2008, arguing that this was state aid that had not been correctly notified to the European Commission. According to the 2008 provision, EDF was under an obligation to purchase electricity produced from wind turbines in France at the price of €80 megawatt/hour (MWh), a price that was above the market price. That extra charge, which is borne by EDF, is offset by a contribution to the public electricity service (“contribution au service public de l'électricité, CSPE), which is close to a tax borne by consumers of electricity. The Court's ruling could open the way to possible annulment of those subsidised rates. In its ruling today, the Court states that the new mechanism for offsetting the additional costs arising from the obligation to purchase the electricity generated by wind turbines at a price higher than the market price, the funding of which is borne by all electricity end-users, constitutes intervention by the state through state resources. It notes: 1) that the new offset mechanism is attributable to the French state; and 2) that the new offset mechanism constitutes an advantage granted through state resources. (LC/transl.jl)