Global Investment in Renewable Energy: France

Continuing with our list from December 2011 (archive) next up we have France

Renewable sources such as biomass and hydro participate to a significant extent of France’s energy mix. However, France is developing policies aimed at a more diversified mix which includes increasing wind and photovoltaic electricity, solar energy for heat and biofuels. France also has the second largest potential in the European Union in terms of wind energy and a very good potential in terms of solar and geothermal energy.

Learn more about renewable energy in France here.

Policies

Here are a few of France’s renewable energy policy plans (for more info, please click here):

Tax Credits – In 2005, tax credits were set up (50% since 2006) for equipments using renewable energy source. This is now called the sustainable development tax credit regime and is extended to 2012.

General Tax on Polluting Activities – Operators who incorporate levels of biofuels inferior to the anticipated national objectives must acquit, according to the 2005 Financial Law a supplementary payment of General Tax on polluting activities. The rate of the tax decreases according to the amount of biofuels put on the market.

Motives

France faces an energy import dependency close to average EU levels, with the majority of imports being oil.

The share of gas, also imported, has been steadily increasing in recent years.

Electricity production in France is dominated by nuclear energy which amounts approximately to 77% (2007).

Renewable Energy Availability

The level of production of large-scale and small-scale hydropower installations combined to represent 59,712 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of the total 64,439 GWh.

The second and third principal sources are biowaste (1,671 GWh) and solid biomass (1,371 GWh).

Solar power demonstrates an average annual growth of 90% (between 1997 and 2004), and for onshore wind power this figure is 58%.

Stay tuned for the final country coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Sources: EREC, EREC, EREC, Europa, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)