Accused of not going fast enough in the deployment of renewable energies, France is having a hard time accelerating, despite the declared will of the public authorities. During the last call for tenders for onshore wind power launched in December 2022 by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) and relating to 925 MW, only 54 MW were awarded, in view of the results published on Wednesday March 22.
In the end, only four applications were selected: one in the Grand Est and three in New Aquitaine.
Professionals denounce a lack of arms
However, there was no shortage of candidates, with 60 projects submitted, representing a total of 944 MW. The price criterion was not a limiting factor either, assures the profession. Admittedly, it had been set at €76.40 per MW/h over twenty years, i.e. half the level of the current market price. But many operators would prefer to play it safe by opting for long-term contracts. Large quantities of renewable energy will come onto the market in the next few years, which could contribute to lowering prices overall.
“The main reason for this situation lies in the lack of CRE staff. It now has to manage seven to eight calls for tenders per year, compared to one to two a few years ago, with the same workforce,” considers Corentin Sivy, acquisition and development manager for France of the German BayWa re, specifying that he had not submitted any files on this call for tenders.
For years, the leaders of the renewable sectors, wind power, photovoltaics but also biomethane, have underlined the delays caused by the lack of arms to investigate the files, in particular in the prefectures.
But the argument is swept away by the CRE, where we prefer to speak of a “administrative failure due to mutual misunderstanding”.
Stricter financial rules
The rules have, in fact, changed for this call for tenders, with a tightening of the financial conditions, even though with the rise in interest rates, the banks are more demanding on the economic balance of the projects.
In the specifications drawn up by the Ministry of Energy Transition, an old criterion has thus been reintroduced. It stipulates that the bank guarantees given to the projects should no longer have a limited period of validity, or, in any case, that the dates indicated should be distant.
The objective is to prevent developers from indicating dates that are too short, which could serve as a pretext for them to withdraw from the call for tenders and wait for the next one, potentially more profitable if, in the meantime , market prices rose. A scenario that has been seen several times lately.
As a result, the vast majority of files could not be declared admissible because of this formal defect, believes the CRE.
Extension of deadlines
“Rather than requiring each candidate to regularize their file by asking their bank to draft an addendum, the Commission preferred to reject 95% of the projects, for lack of being able to examine them in time”, says Corentin Sivy. A new call for tenders should however be quickly launched by the government, with the key to a few months lost.
«About 870 MW could have been commissioned for the winter of 2024-2025, saving between 50 and 100 million euros on the energy bill and burning 5% less gas”, assures the leader of BayWa re, who is also worried about the extension of the deadlines.
For if the procedures for examining appeals have been simplified, by now being examined directly during appeal, to the chagrin of opponents, the queues to connect solar and wind farms are taking on worrying proportions. Depending on the industry, you now have to wait up to three years.