World outlook orld outlook
A new dawn
With robust wind energy goals and ample government investment, France is typical of European countries eager to show off their green credentials. In practice, however, the Hexagon has struggled to match the successes of its neighbours. Between acres of red tape and broad suspicion of wind farms in general, that isn’t very surprising – however, the future of French wind energy does seem rather brighter. Andrea Valentino talks to Pierre Tardieu, chief policy officer at Wind Europe, and Matthieu Monnier, deputy CEO at France Énergie Éolienne, to understand what tomorrow could bring.
I
f you’d looked out over Saint-Brieuc Bay on 7 May, you’d have seen an apparently familiar view: dozens of fishing boats, green and blue and rusted red, all bobbing in the English Channel. In itself, none of this would have felt new. This part of coastal Brittany, heaving with scallop and abalone, has hosted fishing boats for centuries. Yet if you stood and stared for longer, you’d have noticed something odd. None of the 70 fishing boats that sunny Friday morning were actually casting their nets. Instead, they were acting as a kind of floating picket, blocking a far larger vessel from going about its business. Known as the Aeolus, the fishermen’s target was a 457ft monster built for a single purpose: erecting offshore wind turbines. Yet as the fishermen have complained in increasingly violent terms, the Aeolus and its turbines would quickly ruin their catch – and their livelihoods.
8
As one of their representatives proclaimed in 2020, the trawlermen would rather die than let the project succeed. It hasn’t come to that so far. Yet, while Iberdrola’s Saint-Brieuc project limps on, with the eventual aim of delivering clean energy to 835,000 people, the controversy persists. In the nearby city of Rennes, opponents of the scheme recently lodged two complaints with the local administrative court, hoping to stop the project for good.
Nor is this beautiful corner of Northern France, its verdant cliffs sinking down to a cobalt sea, particularly unique. Despite ambitious government plans, and one of the most auspicious natural landscapes on the continent, France’s wind energy sector has long struggled. That’s true everywhere: every region has its opponents, and onshore schemes are typically viewed with as much suspicion as their offshore cousins.
World Wind Technology /
www.worldwind-technology.com
Allexxandar/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33
