{"id":1911,"date":"2018-11-01T18:47:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T18:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euromenaenergy.com\/?p=1911"},"modified":"2018-11-01T18:47:57","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T18:47:57","slug":"french-plan-to-store-wind-solar-energy-stymied-by-eu-deadlock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/?p=1911","title":{"rendered":"French Plan to Store Wind, Solar Energy Stymied by EU Deadlock"},"content":{"rendered":"

Energy storage on a commercial scale is the holy grail for supporters of renewables, including French President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for his government, a dispute with the European Union is blocking investment for facilities which could store enough wind or solar power for hundreds of thousands of homes.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the deadlock is a series of hydroelectric dams operated by\u00a0Electricite de France SA. The state-controlled utility\u2019s rights to run several facilities expired a few years ago and the EU wants to boost competition by giving other companies a chance to operate them. EDF says it would be unfair to exclude it from new tenders, and Macron\u2019s government is seeking a compromise.<\/p>\n

As the\u00a0spat\u00a0enters its fourth year, more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of potential investment in pumped-hydro projects remain frozen. As long as the fate of their expired concessions is unclear, EDF and\u00a0Engie S<\/a>A, France\u2019s dominant hydro producers, are reluctant to invest in new reservoirs and more powerful turbines. But the country will need additional storage capacity for its planned expansion in wind and solar power.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, some investments on concessions are blocked because of our disagreement with the competition department\u201d of the EU,\u00a0Virginie Schwarz, director of energy at the French Environment Ministry, said at a conference this month. The government, which is about to present France\u2019s energy road map for the next decade, is assessing ways to fund regeneration of old dams and the development of small hydro projects, she said.<\/p>\n

That would boost France\u2019s existing 25.5 gigawatts of hydropower capacity, which generates more than a 10th of the country\u2019s electricity. EDF, which operates more than 20 gigawatts of these dams, has the most to lose in future tenders. That\u2019s because it still operates most of the almost 3 gigawatts of concessions that have expired, and this number will climb to 5 gigawatts in the next few years.<\/p>\n

French oil giant\u00a0Total SA\u00a0and Norwegian state utility\u00a0Statkraft AS\u00a0are among the companies that are prepared to bid for EDF\u2019s and Engie\u2019s hydro concessions when they come up for grabs. The issue has been a contentious one for the government, which owns 84 percent of EDF, as it risks being left with smaller, unprofitable dams.<\/p>\n

Window Extension<\/h3>\n

Still, there may be a \u201cpolitical window\u201d of opportunity for France to make a deal with the EU after European parliamentary elections in May next year, said Regis Collon, a spokesman for Statkraft France, which\u00a0aims\u00a0to operate at least 1 gigawatt of French hydro concessions by 2025.<\/p>\n

The French government has asked the EU to extend EDF\u2019s concession on the Truyere river in southern France. In exchange, the utility would build a pumped-hydro facility of about 1 gigawatt, according to Yves Giraud, EDF\u2019s hydro chief, who says he hasn\u2019t heard of any response from the EU.<\/p>\n