Tribune. By adopting a decree supposed to boost photovoltaic energy production facilities, France has just dealt the death blow to hundreds of collective solar energy production initiatives, carried by groups of residents and residents. communities. This decree restrictively transcribes a European provision and prohibits the accumulation of aid from the State (the guaranteed tariff for the purchase of electricity), on the one hand, and from local authorities, on the other hand (often subsidies regional).
However, the combination of local subsidies and the purchase price is vital for citizen solar projects, installation on small roofs of public buildings involving additional safety standards (schools, gymnasiums, etc.). This additional aid is all the more essential in the northern half of France and mountain areas: the economic balance of projects is more difficult to achieve there because of the lesser sunshine, which penalizes communities wishing to contribute directly to a local, mobilizing and sustainable energy transition.
These solar installations, developed and financed by citizens, communities and local actors, not only generate green electricity, but also educational actions on energy transition, better understanding and local ownership of renewable energies, support for local economy… so many positive spinoffs for the regions which explain the growing desire of the ever-increasing number of communities to support these initiatives.
A mechanism for modulating the photovoltaic purchase price
With this text, France prohibits communities from providing support for these territorial projects with very real economic, social and democratic benefits. This while the scientific community is urging national, but also local, actors to combine their efforts to fight climate change and accelerate the development of renewable energies.
This while the Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili recently deplored that there is still “Too few citizen projects”, involving local actors, and promised resources to support the regions along this necessary energy transition. This while the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, affirmed on August 28 in Saint-Nazaire that the solar photovoltaic electricity production projects “Constitute the priority axis of our strategy in terms of renewable electric energies”.
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