Will Emmanuel Macron be able to become the most leader green of Europe? The head of state capable of beating all the others in the energy revolution true renewable sources? The news of the last few days from the French capital show him super busy on this terrain. Despite the protests of the workers in the sector lined up alongside those of transport. The two most gluttonous facts are the closure of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant and the conversion into a large photovoltaic park and Edf's announcement of 8 billion euros of investments for a electrical storage plan. In both cases, the French President did not expose himself personally, but it is clear that the operations are part of the overall strategy of his mandate. Ambitious to the point of wanting to surpass the other EU countries in the fight against climate change and close with the cumbersome past of a France not very sensitive to environmentalist issues.
Building photovoltaics at the Fessenheim site in Alsace, in place of the oldest nuclear power plant on the other side of the Alps, is a commitment that Macron's predecessors had announced many times, without ever completing it. Through the undersecretary of the Ministry of Ecology, Nicolas Hulot, it was instead established that for 2019 the nuclear reactors will be shut down. Thus also setting aside the previous constraint that linked the closure of Fessenheim with the activation of another power plant.”Closing Fessenheim without making any a demonstrative example of the energy transition would make no sense” they say from Paris. A remarkable result, therefore, in the transition to renewables is longed movesndo capital international together with the interest of the most attentive observers. Within a few months there will be an auction for the production of 200 megawatts on the ground and 100 on the roofs with the French Cassa Depositi e Prestiti guaranteeing the operation. Edf, which manages the closing plant, is already vigilant, without wanting to overshadow other potential competitors. Apparently this is the case, but in the end the game could also be played entirely at home.
The role of the colossus led by Jean-Bernard Levy, is preponderant in crossing the will of Macron's executive. With eyes to 2035, the Company wants to conquer the supremacy of European energy company at the forefront. Macron has reserved for himself that of guarantor and guaranteed political leader. Seeing how and if foreign competitors will be displaced will be exciting. The progressive abandonment of nuclear power and the 8 billion investment to accumulate electricity produced by solar panels are the fundamentals on which a winning and shared strategy is built. Technically, the aim is to create a kind of energy deposit for companies and families to balance the climatic variations that influence the production of renewables. Edf's CEO explained it to Le Monde, reinforcing the modern vision of the company - controlled by the State - when the energy produced accumulates and is consumed when there is an actual need. Very different from today, where energy on the grid is cheap and there is still plenty of room for oil and gas.
The French have thus understood that with concertation at the highest levels they can increase in quality and economic circularity, burned by widespread environmental pollution phenomena and above all by the low investments of the Hollande and Sarkozy years. The nationalist spirit - questionable as you like - asserts itself in a concrete dialectic, when the others mark time. Perhaps this is why they give lessons, sometimes badly tolerated, because one feels more capable, even if less practical. Not for nothing, despite the strikes of these days, the political and institutional community is also preparing a climate plan for Metropolis of the Grand Paris with the reduction of carbon emissions and the consumption of renewables at 60%. Another reinforcement for the young Macron, perhaps not requested.
