The famous French administrative millefeuille takes on its full meaning when looking at the renewable energy that is wind power. In a report, the Court of Auditors castigates the State and its practices.
French energy policy wants to give pride of place to wind energy. Except that in its latest report, the Court of Auditors points out the too many faults in the implementation of this policy: the main ones are, surprise, legal and administrative, sometimes comical. Let us see, in 10 points, the obstacles which today hinder the delayed development of the wind energy sector in France.
Wind power slowed down by administrative delays specific to France
1. The challenges of distancing from homes
The legislation requires a distance of 500 meters between homes and wind turbines. Imagine that more than half of the wind turbines in some regions are below this distance, creating challenges for expansion. In Finistère, more than 8 out of 10 wind turbines are installed less than 500 meters from homes, and 55% of the Breton region. This rule, introduced with the Grenelle II law, therefore poses a problem for old installations and the renewal of existing wind farms.
2. Military, aeronautical and meteorological constraints
The regulations also impose easements for wind farms near radars (from Météo France, for example), aerodromes, and military aviation training areas. The rules vary depending on the types of radars and the potential impact on civil and military aviation, thus limiting the possibilities for implementation. On 20% of the national territory, which correspond to overflight zones for military training at very low altitude, wind turbines have a height limited to 150 meters, with authorizations studied on a case-by-case basis.
3. Smaller wind turbines
Military and aeronautical easements impose limitations not only on the available land, but also on the height and power of wind turbines. This results in less powerful wind turbines in France compared to other European countries.
4. The need to lift easements to free up land
To increase wind capacity in France, it is imperative to lift certain easements, which will allow more land to be exploited. The AER law of March 10, 2023 opens the way to this possibility by declassifying radio navigation beacons.
5. Laborious authorization procedures
Administrative procedures in France are notoriously slow and complex. They constitute a major obstacle to the deployment of wind energy. Because in France, it is not the lack of projects which is the cause of the French delay, but rather this administrative burden.
The AER law deplores the fact that it is necessary, on average, “ 7 years for a wind farm and 10 years for an offshore wind farm ”, to get rid of contentious procedures and others. Measures aimed at accelerating the delivery of environmental authorizations are, in the eyes of the Court of Auditors, necessary to achieve the objectives.
Almost systematic appeals against wind projects
6. Regulatory instability persists
The regulations surrounding wind power in France have undergone frequent revisions, reflecting normative instability and uncertainty for players in the sector. For example, certain decrees have been modified several times. So we let you imagine what happens next. Regulatory stability is essential today to encourage long-term investment.
7. A high rate of litigation
Many wind projects are subject to appeals, leading to significant delays in their completion. It is essential to reduce dispute processing times to accelerate wind power development. Today, a majority of onshore projects and, above all, all offshore projects are all subject to appeal.
8. The importance of upstream support
Better coordination between project leaders and instructing services before submitting applications is necessary to streamline the process. This preliminary phase, which generally lasts one year, is crucial for the assessment of landscape and environmental impacts. Since the law of March 10, 2023, a prefectural referent is in theory supposed to facilitate upstream exchanges between project leaders and the instructing services.
9. Insufficiently shortened deadlines despite the single environmental authorization
The consolidation of environmental authorizations into a single application (initially a dozen were needed) did not sufficiently reduce processing times. There is a need to further simplify the instruction process. For the moment, the only procedure for examining authorization applications for onshore wind power remains 22 months on average. We’re not even talking about additional requests for documents and information, which extend these deadlines by at least 4 months, and can be extended by up to 4 additional months.
10. Complexity of the impact on landscape integration and biodiversity
The impact on the landscape and on biodiversity remains a source of contention. The procedures must be clarified and simplified, in particular by defining more precise criteria for assessing the landscape impact. Among the impacts, distance, noise, security, risks and even interference are studied. The landscape integration of projects is at the origin of 70% of appeals.
The wind energy sector in France is therefore faced with a series of regulatory challenges which are hampering its growth. To achieve energy policy objectives, it is imperative to overcome these obstacles, both regulatory and procedural.
Source : Court of Audit
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