Only 0.91 megawatt assigned on the 32 MW planned: the last call for tenders of the energy gendarme relating to photovoltaic facilities resulted in a fiasco in Reunion. A “catastrophe” in the eyes of large players in the sector who appeal to the general States organized by the State to unlock the situation. The Sorun union, which defends the interests of smaller companies, sees on the contrary what is happening “with a good eye”.
The energy regulation commission, which has launched three tenders dedicated to non-interconnected areas (overseas departments and Corsica) for a year, has been the first to recognize: it is necessary to review the criteria imposed on companies that meet there, in particular by making agricultural projects on the ground eligible, as is the case in metropolitan France.
It must be said that the result of the third call for tenders is eloquent. Of the 99 megawatts planned in total (40.5 MW of installations on buildings, umbridies and agrivoltaic; 58.5 MW of ground facilities) only 14.41 MW were allocated … including 12 MW for Corsica.
Albioma only winner
Regarding Reunion, out of the 32 MW put into play (respectively 13 and 19 MW), only 0.91 MW was validated for the only file having been a candidate: that of Albioma for a roof power plant on an industrial building in Gillot.
During the two previous tenders, our island had done a little better with 5.19 and 8.02 MW granted respectively. But in the end, out of the 96 MW possible, only 14.12 MW were granted to companies that had been able to submit a file.
« It’s a disasterComments Xavier Ducret, Indian Ocean Director of Akuo and local president of the Syndicate of Renewable Energies (SER). It has become very difficult to get out of photovoltaic projects in agrivoltaism or on the ground. The roof sector remains dynamic. But that will not be enough to achieve energy autonomy ».
This situation mainly concerns the big players in the sector: Albioma, Totalenergies, Greenyellow, Akuo or Corsica Sole and Amarenco, who share the same observation and the same expectations.
« Between 2005 and 2015, photovoltaics went from 0 to 10 % of the electric mix with nearly 200 megawattsexplain the members of the Ser. Ten years later, we are at 250 megawatts and 11 % while the objectives of the PPE (Editor’s note: multi -year energy programming) were 320 megawatts in 2023 and 500 in 2028 ”.
It is missed for the first deadline and badly gone for the second. “You have to move”summarizes Xavier Ducret.
What is blocking?
« The main problem is urban planning authorizationsdescribes Djamila Mze-Hamadi, director prospecting and development for the Indian Ocean area at Corsica Sole. We can no longer obtain a building permit from the State for photovoltaic installations ».
The difficulty is purely regulatory. The various laws and other decrees that have entered into force in recent years (coast, landscapes, town planning, agrivoltaism, etc.) prevent any development of major projects.
-Another concern: the search for land available on an island which already lacks it for economic activities. And when it is released, priority is not given to solar.
“We are undergoing a very negative French state of mind in relation to photovoltaics with a questioning of the consequences of global warming”regrets Xavier Ducret.
The third essential brake on a resumption of major solar projects: the too low prices imposed by the energy regulation commission. “For photovoltaic shade, the additional cost of anticyclonic constructions has not been taken into account,” says the local president of the Ser. The gap would be 20 to 30 %. Clearly: even with a building permit, it is impossible to make such an operation profitable.
In recent months, the actors concerned have multiplied the procedures vis-à-vis the State but without a satisfactory response according to them to date. “We call on it to general states with all actors”explains the local representation of the SER, which notably quotes the energy regulation commission, the Directorate General of Energy and Climate but also local communities. Objective: to convince all these little world to accept “adaptations” of the regulatory framework, responsible according to them for the “stagnation” of the sector.
Valls called to “Get involved”
“We are fortunate to have a PPE in Reunion, we have the political impetus of the region and the State but we are missing the road to go there. You have to change the paradigm “summarizes Arnaud de la Hogue, head of the Indian Ocean agency for total renewable France.
While a solar plan is in the pipes, with the desire to reach nearly 900 photovoltaic megawatts connected to the network in 2034 in Reunion, the Minister of Overseas will also be called upon to “get involved” in this file.
To achieve their ends and convince their interlocutors, these actors insist that the photovoltaics are “The cheapest production solution” And that the State, in its quest for 40 billion euros in budget cuts, could therefore save on the CSPE (contribution to the public electricity service) by leaving solar developing. Of the order of 100 million euros per year according to the Ser.
The energy gendarme has already sent a recommendation to the State: “Launching deposit studies for each project typology and in each territory in order to have a specific inventory of volumes that could be developed and under what conditions. CRE believes that it would also be relevant to identify what limits the development of projects systematically during the authorization phases “.
In order to leave a little time to correct the shot, the energy gendarme recommends postponing in September the launch of the fourth call for tenders initially planned from June 16 to 27 … and which risks translating into the same result as the third.
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