Wind turbines beside a road in northern France.

France is known for nuclear energy, but it seems that the winds of change are gathering momentum.  The vast majority of the electricity generated in France comes from its 59 nuclear reactors.   The country has not historically been considered a global leader in renewable energy, but France has taken some bold steps recently to support growth in this industry.
By 2020, the French government plans to generate 23 % of its electricity from renewable energy sources.  France now exceeds Denmark in aggregate wind energy capacity after adding 950 MW in 2008.  France currently has 3400 MW of wind power generation and plans to increase this to 25000 MW by 2020.

The above table gives the total installed wind energy capacity for France according to the Global Wind Energy Council.  With the annual growth rate around 38 % and new wind capacity represents 60 % of all new generation installed in the country last year.  France is now the fourth largest market in Europe after Germany, Spain, and Italy.
The policy framework to encourage wind energy growth has been in place since 2002.  Initially, a tariff of 8.2 euro cents per kWh of wind generated energy was offered to producers for a period of ten years.  Yet, in July 2005, the law was amended to stipulate that in order to be eligible, wind farms have to be built in special Wind Power Development Zones (ZDE).  The ZDEs are defined at the regional level based on electrical production potential, grid connection capacity, and landscape protection.

The concept of ZDEs may be a good one, but it has slowed up legislation and development in the past few years.  The feed-in tariff in the ZDE was reaffirmed in a decree signed on 17th November 2008, after the previous decree was cancelled by the Conseil d’Etat, the highest administrative court, in August 2008.  The French Syndicat des énergies renouvelables (SER) suggested a wind power generation target of 25 GW by 2020, including 6 GW offshore wind power.  This has been adopted by the National Assembly and should be adopted by the Senate in the coming months and passed into functional law by the end of 2009.
As the wind power sector grows, France is taking a close look at protecting the environment, but also at the workforce.  According to the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management, the wind industry in France currently employs 7000 people.  The SER goes on to claim that by 2020, at projected growth rates, the wind energy sector could represent 60000 direct jobs in France.

Wind energy companies are taking note and seizing opportunities.  For example, Vestas just announced an opening of a new office in Paris, La Défense.  Nicolas Wolf, General Manager of Vestas France, explains, “In 2008 alone, we have almost doubled the wind capacity delivered in France compared to the year before, and in the past three years we have doubled the number of employees in our country. It is extremely important for Vestas to be established in Paris in order to continue supporting the growth and the development that we have experienced in the past years.”

There are still several barriers that remain and hinder development of wind energy throughout France.  Some examples include: slow authorization; inadequate grid connection capacity; and zones in which installations are forbidden.  A 2007 study issued by the Ministry of Industry and Economy indicates that 9 weeks are necessary to notify applicants that the application process has been launched and a farther 22 for the process to be completed.   Preparation for the first offshore wind farm in France began with government financing in 2005, but long authorization has delayed construction until the end of 2009 or 2010.

Overcoming existing obstacles to wind energy development is certainly the key to France realizing its wind energy potential.  According to a report authored by A.R. Laali and M. Benard for l’Electricité de France, France appears to have the second largest wind energy potential in Europe, after the United Kingdom.  The biggest potential for growth in the coming years is in the north and northeast of the country.  The winds may be blowing slowly, but they are blowing surely for increased wind power throughout France.

The UK National Grid has teamed up with 2OC, a company, which has developed “geo-pressure” technology to utilize the enormous pressure inside the UK gas pipelines, which supply UK homes.

(source: www.cryostar.com)

The first of several planned schemes will see the implementation of small turbines inside the gas network, to produce 20MW of clean energy by 2010 from the natural gas that is delivered at high pressures through the pipes.

The innovative technology will support the National Grid, which owns most of the UK’s gas pipeline, in meeting its targets of sourcing all of its internal energy use from renewable technology. It is estimated that on completion of the eight planned schemes across the UK, the combined renewable energy generation could be as much as 1GW – the equivalent a conventional coal or nuclear power station.

Andrew Mercer from 2OC explains that

“Natural gas is at far too high a pressure when it is drilled from underground reservoirs, so can’t be used safely in homes. It would just blow up your gas cooker.”

Instead, the pressure must be released at hundreds of sites across the supply network known as pressure reduction stations (PRSs). 2OC plans to build mini-power stations across these PRSs, to capture this energy, which is currently lost, to generate clean electricity.

Whilst the technology has in some form been in the spotlight before – the US considered it at some sites in the 80s – the huge associated costs have meant that it did not become more widespread. The British engineers expect to reduce costs by combining the technology with a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit at high efficiency. 

Mercer has also identified another use for the technology, which he calls “free cold“. Reducing the gas pressure also delivers significant temperature drops, from as much as 10C to -30C, presenting an opportunity as a potential replacement technology in refrigeration and air conditioning units. In addition there have been talks about using this technology for large scale cooling close to letdown stations, such as the EU’s proposed concentrated solar power project across Northern Africa (making the project planned for the blistering heat of the Sahara desert more feasible) and also to supply the huge cooling needs of large computer data centres.

The emergence and implementation of such innovative ideas is well received by environmentalists, particularly in light of the momentum we have built on the climate change agenda in the UK. Despite the technology being in its pilot stages in the UK, if implementation of the technology continues across the 2000+ potential sites in the UK, this would significantly reduce the UK’s dependence on foreign imports of fossil fuels to satisfy it’s ever-increasing energy consumption. Whilst enabling the UK to meet carbon reduction targets (to contribute to the mitigation of climate change) and increasing energy security, it should be noted that the technology uses the high pressure from deliveries of natural gas. If supplies are depleting, do we need to consider other ways of using this technology – assuming fewer deliveries gas? I think we do.

In terms of prices, I would expect that after initial investments to install geo-pressure technology at PRSs, the dual function (additional clean energy) which can be harnessed from deliveries of natural gas should reduce the prices of gas for end users, but whether this might be cancelled out by the increasing gas prices from overseas remains to be seem.

The Climate Change Act 2008 has committed the UK to reach a target of 20% renewables by 2050, whilst at the same time the UK has pledged to achieve 15% of this by 2020 as part of the European climate deal.

However, whilst such plans to catalyse the renewables industry are generating further interest from private sector investors, there remain a number of limiting factors which must be ironed out for timely project development and completion.

The wind power sector presents a key example of this, as 262 projects representing seven giggawatts are held up due to lengthy planning delays. Government officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recognize the major barriers presented by the Planning Act for wind projects, and plan to launch a renewable energy strategy to understand methods of overcoming existing challenges in the system. But should we have seen this coming? Wind power represents the strongest renewable power source across Europe, and was the fastest growing renewable energy sector last year.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) highlights that in order to meet the 15% renewable target, Britain must generate 30GW of wind capacity – 20GW of which could be generated offshore. The remaining 10GW must be generated onshore, building upon the existing 2.5GW we currently generate, but ongoing planning delays have made investments in the UK less attractive. The average timescales of gaining planning permission in England range from 15-20 months. This along with mounting construction costs which threaten the economics of many wind projects have already forced Shell and BP over to the United States, and Centrica (which owns British Gas) is becoming increasingly concerned over the fate of their 250-megawatt scheme off the Lincolnshire coast.

Europe’s biggest onshore wind farm became operational in early December, providing enough energy for up to a million people in northern Portugal – putting them well on the way to developing an oil-free energy infrastructure. Whilst the project represents only 1% of national consumption, it is a great step forward and has highlighted Portugal’s government enthusiasm, subsidies and special tariffs to make it happen. Something for the UK government to carefully consider in such difficult times.