Macron, President of France, "Aiming to Build 50 Offshore Wind Power Complexes by 2050"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] French President Emmanuel Macron visited the site of France's first offshore wind power complex and expressed his intention to significantly increase renewable energy, AP News reported on the 22nd (local time).

France's first offshore wind power complex was completed earlier this month with the installation of the 80th wind turbine off the coast 12 to 20 km from the western port city of Saint-Nazaire. Although France has a long coastline stretching thousands of kilometers, the only offshore wind power complex so far is in Saint-Nazaire.

President Macron announced a goal to build 50 offshore wind power complexes of similar scale by 2050. He also added that he wants to increase solar power generation tenfold and onshore wind power generation twofold during the same period.

President Macron said, "The war has changed everything," adding, "The European model, which relied on Russian gas by many countries, has collapsed, and energy has become a weapon of war for the first time." He continued, "We must accelerate the expansion of renewable energy," and "I want to at least double the speed of renewable energy expansion." He pointed out that France is lagging behind other European countries in the renewable energy sector.

In fact, France's share of renewable energy is below the European Union (EU) average. France failed to achieve its goal of raising the renewable energy generation ratio to 23% by 2020. As of 2020, France's renewable energy generation share was only 19%, while the average of the 27 EU member countries was 22%.

Nuclear power accounts for 67% of France's electricity production. Earlier this year, President Macron announced plans to build six new nuclear reactors and extend the lifespan of existing ones. France currently has 56 nuclear reactors, about half of which are offline for various reasons such as regular inspections.

The French government plans to prepare measures to expand renewable energy next week.

President Macron stated that the goal is to reduce the time it takes to build and operate offshore wind power complexes from the current 10 to 12 years to 6 years, and to shorten the time required to establish solar power plants from 6 years to 3 years. He said the same approach would be applied to nuclear power, aiming to reduce the time from new nuclear reactor construction to operation. President Macron emphasized the need to increase renewable energy to reduce dependence on oil and gas.

President Macron said that the bill to be unveiled by the government next week will guarantee financial support for local governments' eco-friendly energy transition and include benefits for local governments undergoing energy transition.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.