Renewable Energy Law: mass distribution denounces “too short” deadlines

“More than a year after the publication of the APER law (Law relating to the acceleration of the production of renewable energies, Editor’s note), all of the implementing decrees have still not been published”, alerted three organizations of mass distribution in a joint press release.

These are Perifem, an association which brings together French distribution players around energy or environmental issues, the Federation of Consumption and Distribution (FCD), the professional association of supermarkets, and FACT , which brings together numerous lessors and investors in commercial real estate.

The three organizations believe that the timetable is “totally inappropriate”.

They argue: “If the first French photovoltaic panel factories are starting to emerge today, the very first productions are estimated for 2025 at the earliest”.

So, how will "the 21.000 stores and shopping centers affected by the legal obligation to install photovoltaic panels in their parking lots" be able to "cover 70 million square meters of parking lots by 2028 at the latest"? they ask.

They therefore propose to "extend the duration of installation of photovoltaic shades by at least two years to allow brands and businesses to equip themselves under reasonable and responsible economic conditions".

But also to return to "a definition of the surface area to be covered including only half of the parking spaces, excluding traffic aisles" in order not to "(freeze) the land surface area of ​​French retail parking lots for more than 20 years".

Finally, they warn of the risk that this obligation will result in the sacrifice of “existing vegetation”.

The ENR law intends to meet the objective set by President Emmanuel Macron for 2050 to multiply by ten the production capacity of solar energy to exceed 100 GW and to deploy 50 wind farms at sea to reach 40 GW.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.