Renewable energy unions reassured after their meeting with Lecornu

The meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Economy Minister Roland Lescure "confirmed an essential point: obviously, there will be no moratorium on renewable energies," the Renewable Energy Syndicate (SER), France Renouvelables and Enerplan welcomed in a joint statement on Friday.

"This clarification was expected and necessary to reassure employees of companies in the sector," they added.

The three actors indicate that the sector "has obtained guarantees from the Prime Minister on the resumption of calls for tenders" essential for the development of projects.

The meeting also highlighted "a widely shared sense of urgency, linked to the international geopolitical context" surrounding energy, such as "issues of sovereignty, security of supply and industrial competitiveness", the three organizations emphasized.

They call for the creation of "a true 'French energy team', aligned with clear and ambitious objectives in order to break free from our dependence on fossil fuels," a gesture towards the proponents of all-nuclear power who are concerned about excessive development of renewable energies.

"The meeting was very constructive. The Prime Minister listened," Daniel Bour, president of the Enerplan union, which represents the solar energy sector, told AFP.

Sébastien Lecornu, however, did not provide any figures regarding the production or capacity targets assigned to the different energy production sectors (solar, wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, etc.), which will be made public in the Multiannual Energy Program (PPE), France's energy roadmap until 2035.

Representatives of renewable energies feared that a moratorium would be put in place concerning them or that the planned development volumes would not allow their sectors to maintain themselves.

France Renouvelables expressed concern on Thursday about the impact on employment of a slowdown in the deployment of solar and wind power.

Sébastien Lecornu is due to meet in the afternoon with the players in the nuclear sector: the French electricity giant EDF, its nuclear subsidiary Framatome, the French uranium specialist Orano, and again RTE.