On Friday 5 May, the European Commission decided to authorise three State aid initiatives to develop 17 GW of renewable energy production capacity.
These three projects, which were presented separately by the French state, concern onshore wind power, solar energy and water treatment plants and will allow France to meet its target of covering 23% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
The scheme to support onshore wind power will have a budget of €1 billion a year. It aims to increase capacity by 15 GW over the next 10 years, through a premium on top of the market price (top-up) awarded to operators of small land-based installations with at least six turbines (with an individual limit of 3 MW per turbine).
The second project concerns support for small photovoltaic plants in buildings (producing less than 100 kW) and has been put at €190 million a year, for the production of 2.1 GW of solar energy. The facilities in question will enjoy a feed-in tariff for 20 years and remuneration will depend on the size of the plant and company model.
The final initiative will take the form of aid to develop facilities to run on gases from wastewater treatment works, with a provisional budget of €58 million a year. The French state considers that water treatment works have untapped potential of 160 MW. As most of them have production of less than 1 MW, the regime will principally focus on small plants. Depending on the production capacity of the stations, they will either receive a premium on top of the market price or a feed-in tariff – for a period of 20 years.
The European Commission considers that the above measures are compatible with the environmental objectives of the EU and will have a limited impact on competition. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)