The French wind energy players, through the France Renovables union, called this Tuesday for “an ambitious industrial policy” by Europe and France, to fight against competition considered “unfair” by the Chinese giants in the sector.
“Support for renewable energies, which has been done a lot in France with supplementary remuneration systems, must absolutely be complemented by an ambitious industrial policy,” declared Michel Gioria, general delegate of this union that recently expanded its scope of competence in all the renewable energy. electrical energies.
This industrial policy “must make it possible to ensure the manufacturing elements of the components used in the manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels, heat pumps, electric vehicles, etc., everything that makes up the electrical ecosystem must be located in places that are no longer possible “in Europe and in France,” he added during a press conference in Paris.
“Recover energy sovereignty”
Welcoming the trajectory mentioned by Emmanuel Macron of reducing the proportion of fossil fuels in the French energy mix from 60 to 40% by 2030, which will allow “recovering energy sovereignty”, Michel Gioria warned against a form of “technological” dependence , if France and Europe fail to protect their flagship wind and solar energy.
While the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, stressed in mid-September that the industrial future of renewable energies must “be built in Europe”, Gioria indicated that he firmly expected a “wind package” that must be presented according to him on October 24. In addition to measures that allow “reinforcing investment in existing production centers, (…) it must also be realistic and assume protection against unfair competition, particularly from companies supported by States whose competition rules are not the same. “the same as in Europe,” he declared, pointing in particular to China.
Michel Gioria hopes in particular for the possibility of introducing criteria for components of European origin in tenders, initially with a percentage of 50%, something that European legislation does not currently allow. “In the European wind pact these rules will have to change, otherwise it will be something whose effectiveness will be limited,” he warned. At the French level, France Renouvelables is counting on the adoption in the 2024 finance bill of a tax credit aimed at supporting companies investing in renewable energy components.
Source: BFM TV
