Through a synthesis of research reports and roundtables organized by IDDRI in partnership with the German thinktank Agora Energiewende, this study aims to define the issues and contours of a strategic roadmap for the deployment and integration of renewable energy in France: long-term visibility; the need to better take into account the transformation at a regional and European level; regulatory issues, essential for reducing uncertainty and accelerating the deployment of projects; given the capital intensity of RES projects, issues related to instruments aiming at reducing the risks and costs of financing; and finally the challenges for project acceptance at the local level and appropriation of these projects by the different actors.
KEY MESSAGES:
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THE NEED TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ELECTRIC ENERGY
The French Energy Transition Law for Green Growth adopted in 2015 sets a 40% target for the share of renewables in electricity consumption, representing a doubling of their share to be achieved between now and 2030. This implies a need to speed up the development of the renewable sector. An important lever would be the reduction in project implementation time—down from 7 to 8 years in the wind sector—by simplifying administrative procedures and smoothing the grid connection process. Measures such as the single permit and a 18-month deadline for grid connections, provided for in the Energy Transition Law, should be fully enforced, and a consideration of complementary measures aimed at limiting legal disputes and actions could bring additional value.
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OUTLINING A STRATEGIC TRAJECTORY FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELECTRICITY SYSTEM
The portfolio-oriented approach to planning—which seeks to establish the share of each technology in the electricity supply—should be eschewed in favor of a more detailed projection of the evolution of the sector and in particular of electricity demand, as new uses for electricity are envisaged and energy efficiency is declared a priority of the transition. A roadmap would thus be available to help improve the credibility of policies implemented as well as the alignment between the different targets; assist in coordinating investments; and facilitate assessment and follow-up of policies using suitable indicators.
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CALIBRATING NEW MECHANISMS IN VIEW OF THE INTEGRATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY INTO THE ELECTRICIY MARKET
The move towards stronger integration of electric renewable energy through a shift to market premia and, eventually, a broadening of calls for tender, should be carried out in a careful and progressive manner. It is important to give actors the time to adapt to the direct marketing of energy production. An assessment of the impact of these measures on electricity market concentration and the diversity of actors will be crucial. On the one hand, the emergence of a competitive market for aggregators is necessary for the reform to be successful; on the other, smaller-scale projects backed by local actors—presented as a priority of the French energy transition—could suffer due to this shift towards a more competitive market-based approach.
