GREEN POWER STILL TIED UP WITH RED TAPE IN MACRON’s FRANCE

Some 80 days into Emmanuel Macron’s new job, Europe’s biggest renewable energy companies are still waiting for the French president to make good on campaign pledges to boost green power.

To meet French goals of doubling onshore wind and tripling solar power by 2023, Macron’s government still needs to show it can support investments by helping developers cut through the country’s bureaucratic red tape. Companies including Italy’s Enel SpA, Germany’s EON SE and Innogy SE remain reluctant to develop renewables in Europe’s third-biggest economy.

France has lagged behind its neighbors on renewable energy, even as its population worries more than most Europeans about climate change. While the country still gets about 72 percent of its power through its low-emissions fleet of aging nuclear reactors, it has trailed in the installation of new wind and solar technologies, which cover only about 6 percent of total consumption. By comparison, German solar and wind generate about 20 percent of electricity.

Macron, who took office May 14, has repeatedly signaled interest in turning France into a green energy powerhouse — publicly courting U.S.-based climate scientists and energy entrepreneurs after President Donald Trump ditched the Paris agreement to fight global warming. The French president also appointed Nicolas Hulot, a high-profile environment activist and television personality, as his ecology minister.

SOURCE: www,renewableenergyworld.com