"We refuse to let you cover France with Chinese solar panels": is the government giving in to the far right on energy?

A new postponement and sparks in the energy sector. While the publication of the multi-year energy program (PPE) has been postponed for more than two years , Prime Minister François Bayrou announced to MPs on Monday, April 28, that he was once again postponing its promulgation.

Although mandated by law to set strategic directions for energy production for the next ten years, the text will have to wait. The government has announced the creation of a working group to propose "an improved and corrected version of our next PPE." This is yet another thorn in the side of the energy sector, many of whose activities depend on the publication of this strategic document.

"For us, this postponement is very worrying. We have been waiting for this multi-year program for almost three years; it is essential for us in the renewable energy sector to set targets and launch calls for tender. This postponement creates a lot of uncertainty," regrets Alexandre Roesch, general delegate of the Renewable Energy Union.

In particular, this new delay in the promulgation of the roadmap for energy objectives for the next ten years risks undermining the various players in the offshore wind turbine sector . "A major call for tenders is about to be launched on several coasts, but the PPE in force today does not allow it to be carried out successfully. We are in a deadlock situation. There are four factories in France that produce blades, nacelles and substations. Their orders do not all depend on France, but they have high expectations for this project," adds the specialist.

Despite the urgent need for the energy sector, the government encountered fierce opposition from parts of the right and the far right—which even raised the spectre of censure—to its plan to promulgate the multi-year program by decree, rather than through a law debated in Parliament. Cornered by criticism, the Prime Minister finally agreed to convene a consultative debate on Monday, April 28, in the National Assembly, without a vote, to gather the opinions of elected officials on the PPE.

The disapproval from the far right and the right was hardly measured. "We refuse to let you cover France with Chinese solar panels and disfigure it with wind turbines," declared Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a member of parliament for the National Rally. The diatribe was seconded by the "Les Républicains" MP Justine Gruet. "Doubling the wind farm (would be) an economic absurdity," she reprimanded.

The publication of the PPE is thus delayed until the end of summer at the earliest, promises François Bayrou, after the examination of another bill supported by LR MP Daniel Gremillet. This bill, by outlining the contours of an energy mix by 2050, aims to reduce the share of renewable energies in favor of a significant boost to nuclear power.

The bill thus plans to lower the 40% target for renewable energy to 33%, and to launch the commissioning of 14 new EPRs instead of the six planned by EDF. The proposal was adopted by the Senate last October and is due to be examined by the National Assembly on June 16.

The PPE designed by the government, unveiled by Bercy last year, intended to focus on solar and wind power to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. According to this draft roadmap, photovoltaic electricity would have increased fivefold, and that of onshore wind power would have doubled . Faced with political pressure, the share of renewable energies in the energy mix could be further reduced, even as the High Council for Climate questions the coherence of the PPE to achieve France's climate objectives .

The share of renewable energy in the energy mix in 2030 reaches "only 35% instead of the 44% recommended by the European Commission for France," the organization notes. This prospect does nothing to reassure professionals in the renewable energy sector. "We are not just talking about a postponement, but a corrected postponement, which suggests that the initial copy was poor. Does this herald a new phase where ambition for renewable energy would be reduced? It's possible," fears Alexandre Roesch.