France plans to increase decarbonised electricity production by 20% in a decade and encourage demand

The French government will aim to increase electricity production by nuclear and renewables in the next decade. They are also planning to publish an electrification strategy to encourage the shift away from fossil fuels.

Lescure, in response to questions regarding the newly-published energy planning law (PPE), said that he would be meeting with leaders of the industry to discuss the inclusion of electrification subsidies and support measures for electric cars into the budget for 2027.

He told reporters that "our?demand-growth plan is ambitious, but realistic... and that state support would come at a reasonable cost to the public finances."

The PPE establishes targets for France's energy mix and regulates wind and solar tenders for a period of 10 years. The PPE was approved by a?decree Friday morning, three?years?late. It came about because of a disagreement among legislators over financing nuclear reactors and subsidizing renewables, at a time that France is struggling with high debt.

The PPE targets a decarbonised production of electricity between 650- 693 terawatt hours by 2035. This is compared to the current level of 540?TWh.

In 2035, the goal is to achieve 70% of France’s energy consumption from decarbonised electric power. At the moment, 60% of France's energy consumption is derived from oil, gas and derivatives.

Lescure stated that by 2035, France will have seven million electric vehicles. This is five times the number of cars we currently own.

Lescure had previously said that the 'decision' to lower France’s renewables targets is due to a 'power demand growth slower than expected. He hoped to improve this by continuing to support EV fleets for corporations and possibly issuing tenders to increase consumption.

The PPE of Friday?cut wind- and solar-power targets by around 20% while nuclear production targets for 2035 were increased by 5%.

(source: Reuters)