We have to speed up. France must go “twice as fast” on the commissioning of renewable energy projects and must at the same time accelerate on nuclear energy. These are the wishes expressed, Thursday, September 22, Emmanuel Macron, during the inauguration of the first French offshore wind farm, off Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique). A desire that is all the more pressing, given the country’s electricity needs, which will increase “by 40% by 2050”, he estimated.
> > Wind power at sea: why the Saint-Nazaire offshore park took eleven years to emerge
He also confirmed the objective of installing a “fifty offshore wind farms”as well as “pursue wind power on land”. And this in particular thanks to a reduction in the time of instruction of the files which must remain “compatible” with the preservation of biodiversity and the consideration of contentious appeal procedures.
The procedures will also have to speed up on nuclear power, said the president, who announced last February the order for six new generation reactors, called EPRs. “I announced the first tranche in 2035 for nuclear power. What I want is for us to go much faster”, he said. An audit published in February mentioned the 2037 horizon for the first commissioning. “We can go much faster if we simplify things, so we will be in the same logic on nuclear”he said.
“All ENR does not work, all nuclear does not work”justified Emmanuel Macron. “And what we are going through today with the war, what some neighbors like the Germans are going through even more, is that the key in terms of energy is the diversification of the model”.
He finally promised a better “value sharing” for renewable projects with communities and local residents, which will primarily concern offshore wind turbines, which are often disputed. “In nuclear, there is a real return for the municipalities, which has helped with acceptability, we must do the same for renewable energy projects”assured the Head of State.
Among the avenues for the development of solar energy, the President mentioned “land release” to install more signs on the wastelands, citing the edges of highways and railways, but also some agricultural land with agrovoltaism.