FRANCE : July 11, 2006

PARIS - France's wind power share in electricity consumption could jump to 30 percent by 2030 provided the government removes bureaucratic hurdles, France's wind power association said on Monday.

Wind power makes up 0.25 percent of French electricity consumption with a production capacity of 1,000 MW.
A 2001 European Union directive requires EU members to bring their green electricity share to 21 percent of their power mix by 2010.

"The potential we have in France and the government-set tariffs allow us to believe that wind power could make up 30 percent of French electricity consumption by 2030," Jean-Yves Grandidier, head of the FEE union, told Reuters.

He said that the newly-set government's aim to reach 13,500 MW of wind power by 2013 was realistic provided Paris acts to remove administrative obstacles blocking the sector's progress.

"The biggest hurdles in developing wind power in France are the delays in granting building permits, the price rise of turbines and the acoustic laws which are badly adapted to our industry," Grandidier said.

He said that local authorities were taking up to two years to grant building permits of wind farms that should normally take five months.

"Local authorities are struggling to position themselves with regards to wind power projects," he said. "In some regions we are experiencing unofficial moratoriums," he added.

Wind power has come under fire in many regions where turbines are blamed for destroying landscapes and for noise.

"But recent opinion polls show that 80 percent of the public now supports the development of wind power so I'm confident we will progress fast," Grandider said.

The French government has set since 2001 fixed rates for land-produced wind power to incite companies to invest in the renewable energy.

The government on Monday fixed the new purchasing of land-produced wind power tariff at 82 euros (US$104.8) per megawatt hour (against 83.6 euros previously) and a newly-set offshore wind power tariff of 130 euros.

"Fixed tariffs provide a real incentive to produce but the lowering of the land-produced wind power tariff could harm units based in low wind areas," Grandidier said.

"But wind power is the electricity sector growing the fastest in the world so we are very optimistic," he said.

Grandidier said he believes that France could soon catch up with Germany and Spain, which have Europe's largest wind power sectors.

"Spain has 10,000 MW already installed and a target to double that figure by 2010," he said. "So I don't think our forecast is unfeasible," he concluded.

Story by Muriel Boselli

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/37189/story.htm