“We need to simplify the process. I'm sorry but when I look (in France), I have 500 renewable energy developers (personnel, editor's note) who manage to painfully produce 300 to 400 megawatts (MW) per year […] It's not possible to continue like this, I tell you. Me, in the United States, I built 2 GW in one year,” declared TotalEnergies boss Patrick Pouyanné at the congress of the French Electricity Union in Paris (UFE).
“Having so many people for such low output…”
In the absence of acceleration, the boss of the oil and gas group which is diversifying into electricity says he is ready to “make trade-offs towards countries which are more welcoming”, such as Germany.
“I cannot continue to invest in a country (France), to have so many people costing me money for such a low return. And that’s a problem of space, it’s a problem of regulation, it’s a problem of collective will,” Patrick Pouyanné further criticized, criticizing a law to accelerate renewables of March 10, 2023 “which slowed everything down.”
“Incommensurable administrative delays”
“We know how to do major projects in this country, nuclear power, cathedrals, the Olympic Games, we are super organized,” quipped the fiery boss who was present on Friday at the last site visit to Notre-Dame Cathedral in the presence of Emmanuel Macron.
At his side on Tuesday at a round table, the CEO of the electric group EDF, Luc Rémont, subscribed to the same criticisms.
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