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By AUDE LE GENTIL
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— Wind at sea : the State passes the second (offer) in South Brittany
— Vermilion wants to pump Essonne oil all the way
— The hydrogen sector wants the State to accelerate on transport
Hello everyoneIt’s Friday May 3rd.
THE STATE IS TAKING A WIND. “The government will initiate a sanction procedure,” confides a ministerial source, angry against the winner of the call for tenders for a 250 megawatt floating wind farm which will be installed off the coast of Belle-Ile-en-Mer. His crime: having failed, by deciding not to provide the necessary bank guarantee, as reported by Les Echos.
Two times, the State delayed the announcement of the winner – eagerly awaited because it is the first commercial call for tenders for floating wind power. These about-faces have fueled much speculation. Some hoped that Bruno Le Maire would give the name of the lucky winner from Saint-Nazaire but the mystery will still last “a few days”, said the Minister of the Economy.
“A second business was named the winner. His appointment will take place at the bank guarantee deposit,” specifies Bercy. A designation which must first receive the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission, according to the specifications; request for an opinion which has not yet been made at the time of closing.
THE LIST OF HIS PROBLEMS. The regions regret not having “been involved upstream” in the definition of a national strategy on offshore wind power and they make this known in a letter to Bruno Le Maire and Christophe Béchu. Carole Delga took her most beautiful pen – or rather her most beautiful field mouse – to send ministers a letter at the beginning of April.
Money. The president of the Occitanie region is asking, among other things, for more money for the transformation of ports while the regions carry “the bulk of the investments”. And propose “the opening of a discussion” on the distribution of taxation.
Like a Lego. The president of the regions of France also calls for reviewing the weighting of the price criterion in the specifications of calls for tender. It now accounts for at least 70% of the bill, and pushes certain consortiums to source their supplies from China. “Our aim is not just to assemble and become the home of Lego,” warns a regional elected official involved in these issues.
Not associated but heardthe regions will perhaps console themselves with the announcements of Bruno Le Maire, who returns to “an upcoming finance bill” on the taxation of wind farms at sea. And who promised to put in place a criterion of “50% European content” for energy projects, based on the Net Zero Industry Act European and to “harden” the carbon criterion.
SO-SO-SO. The sector is variously delighted by all of Bruno Le Maire’s announcements yesterday in Saint-Nazaire (summarized here). The Renewable Energy Union congratulated the minister, declaring that he “provides the means to join the best in the race for offshore wind”. Another actor, disappointed, worried that “the implementation of NZIA wasting six months on current calls for tenders…” A last one still deplored “reheated” measures.
15 hours, presentation to the Council of Ministers of the bill on the provision of affordable housing.
At 5:30 p.m., interview between Minister Roland Lescure and economist Jean Pisani-Ferry, president of the Institute of Economics for the Climate.
Saturday at 3 p.m. rally in Itteville, in Essonne, against the extension of the hydrocarbon concession operated by Vermilion.
OIL ON THE FIRE. In addition to the new contested fodder in Gironde, other oil wells are fueling opposition in France: tomorrow, ecologists from Essonne are calling for a rally against the extension of the Itteville hydrocarbon concession, which expires this year. In both cases, it is the Vermilion company that is in charge.
Until the last liter. Three years ago, the Canadian group submitted a renewal request to continue extracting oil from the Ile-de-France region until January 1, 2040. That is, the deadline for exploiting hydrocarbons in France since the Hulot law. The choice will fall to the prefect, after the results of the public inquiry.
A “nonsense”, denounces the town hall of Itteville (DVG), the only one of the twelve municipalities concerned to oppose the renewal (it even makes videos of it on TikTok). “This concession hardly produces any more oil, it only brings in around 20,000 euros per year to the municipality and no jobs,” argues the first deputy, Laetitia Colonna. The game is not worth it considering the risk of accidents, in the middle of a national park. She questions the motivations for keeping this deposit at the end of its life.
Vermilion defends himself with your newsletter, making sure that 1) there will still be a demand for oil in France in 2040; 2) the environment and water resources are respected; 3) it is necessary to maintain expertise to prepare for reconversion. The idea of CO2 storage, for example, is advanced.
MOBILIT’HY. It has already been five months since the government unveiled the broad outlines of its national hydrogen strategy. Since then, the industry has been waiting for the final version, promised by Bercy “before the summer”. And ask to shift into higher gear on transport, when the executive assumes to be more selective, which I am telling you here.
Brake on. This document is eagerly awaited to breathe new life into a somewhat weakened industry. Several announcements have cast a chill, such as that of Engie, which is reporting its five-year objectives or the city of Pau which is reversing course on hydrogen buses. Green hydrogen is at an “embryonic stage” and electrolyser technology is “fairly immature”, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, said this weekend.
Nothing unusual for a nascent sector, recall the different actors. But there is still excitement in the air.
Government side, the strategy favors industrial outlets then transport. But only those for whom electric vehicles do not yet respect the road. In other words, uses requiring autonomy, power and rapid charging, such as certain heavy goods vehicles, taxis, construction equipment, etc. This is not enough for the various players. All the details are in my article.
AIR HOLE FOR E-FUELS. The synthetic fuels sector, Manufacturing from hydrogen, still in its infancy, is appealing to the government. It sees itself as a lever to decarbonize planes, liners and planes. “We need voluntarism from the State for manufacturers to get started,” argues Fanny Pointet, from the NGO Transport & Environment, regretting that the subject only occupies a few lines in the national strategy.
For hydrogen carburetorthe NGO has planned a letter to ministers Bruno Le Maire, Christophe Béchu and Roland Lescure, with two lobbies in the sector, asking in particular that these fuels be integrated into the next multi-annual energy program.
Do not dream. The fact remains that the hydrogen plane is not for the immediate future, as explained in this article by my colleague Tommaso Lecca, who details the five challenges to be met.
FULL THROTTLE PENALTIES. The EU is preparing to sanction the Russian gas sector for the first time since the start of the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine, according to two European diplomats presented by my Brussels colleague Victor Jack.
The European Commission must present today to member states a fourteenth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes a ban on European ports where Russian cargoes transship Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) from re-exporting it to other countries. country, according to several sketches of the text that POLITICO was able to consult.
French Elengy, a subsidiary of GRTgaz which operates three LNG terminals in France, would be one of the main companies affected by these sanctions. These would concern 28% of the profits that Russia derives from LNG sales to the European Union. Victor Jack, Gabriel Gavin and Giovanna Coi tell you more here.
— Europe is losing ground on the biofuels market, to the point that the European Court of Auditors points out the gap between public support and the reality of production. Decryption in Les Echos.
— The climate will deprive us of sport: Usbek & Rica wondered how athletes adapt their training and how federations change the rules.
— Nothing is simple with the creation of the UN loss and damage fund. The members of the board of directors are even struggling to agree on a name, POLITICO reports across the Atlantic.
A big thank you to our editor Alexandre Léchenet.
Politico
