After years of wrangling, France has set out a new energy law that slashes its wind and solar power targets and drops a mandate for state-run energy provider EDF to shut down nuclear plants.
The 10-year energy planning law (PPE) will be pushed through by decree on Friday after almost three years of disagreement among lawmakers.
In addition to cutting wind and solar power targets, it reverses a previous legal mandate for state-run EDF to shut down 14 nuclear reactors.
President Emmanuel Macron promised to shutter the reactors in his 2017 presidential campaign but later changed course – supporting nuclear expansion with a plan for at least six new ones.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Friday that the PPE has set the target for decarbonised electricity production at between 650 and 693 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2035, from a current level of 540 TWh.
The growth plan is ambitious but realistic, he told reporters.
"We need both nuclear and renewables," Lescure had said on Thursday.
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Nuclear backbone
The move to pare back renewables is designed to help shield EDF, which operates France's fleet of 57 reactors.
The company is struggling to remain competitive as abundant wind and solar in Europe have pushed down power prices and forced reactors to lower output.
"Nuclear is the backbone of our electricity system," said Lescure, adding that a first new reactor should be inaugurated by 2038.
EDF CEO Bernard Fontana welcomed the proposal, saying it would allow the company to advance toward its objectives.
The PPE lowers wind and solar targets to 105-135 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2035 from drafts that had called for 133-163 GW.
Environmental non-profit Greenpeace France said the change represented a step backwards.
"If this PPE is more than two years late on paper, it's at least a decade behind in its vision of an energy transition," it said in a statement.
Solar power overtakes nuclear and wind to lead EU energy mix for the first time
Far-right opposition
The law had triggered fierce debate among lawmakers – pitting support for renewable subsidies against financing new nuclear at a time when France is struggling with high debt.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) parliamentary group, sent a letter to French MPs saying the new power targets pursued and intensified "a policy that will impoverish the French people and ruin our economy, particularly our industry and agriculture".
She invited all MPs to file a "cross-party no-confidence motion" by next Thursday in reaction to the new energy law, adding that her party will, by default, file its own.
(with newswires)
