Annual Report 2010 - Enel.com

On September 1, 2010, the French Energy Ministry approved
a new decree on remuneration for photovoltaic systems,
which replaces that approved on January 14, 2010.
As of September 1, the following rates apply:
> €580/MWh for systems integrated into residential
buildings of less than 3 kWc;
> €510/MWh for systems integrated into residential
buildings of more than 3 kWc and into hospitals and
schools;
> €440/MWh for systems integrated into other types of
buildings;
> €370/MWh for simplified-integration systems;
> for systems installed on the ground, the remuneration
depends on the location of the systems, since it is based
on the product of €276/MWh and an “R” location coefficient.
These rates remain unchanged for plants in operation
from 2011 and will be cut by 10% per year for plants that
enter into operation starting from 2012.
On December 10, 2010, a new decree for the photovoltaic
sector was published. It suspends new applications for the
feed-in tariff for three months. The only exceptions are as
follows: plants of less than 3 kWc; plants whose technical
and financial connection plan (PTF) had been accepted
nine months before publication of the decree, or before
December 2, 2010, with start of generation within 18
months of the acceptance of the PTF. The suspended applications
must be resubmitted to obtain the feed-in rates,
which in the meantime are to be redefined in a new decree.
Renewal of hydroelectric concessions
On April 22, 2010 the Ministry of Energy issued a notice
concerning the renewal of hydroelectric concessions expiring
in the coming years. The notice sets out the procedure
and the schedule for renewals, as well as the scope of
the concessions. The term of the new concessions and the
ceiling on royalties have yet to be determined.
The first round of concession renewals was to have begun
at the end of 2010 and last until mid-2012. There
is currently a 6-month delay compared with the calendar
initially established by the Ministry. The concessions
involved in this first stage are located in the Alps, the
Massif Central and the Pyrenees, with a total capacity of
about 5,300 MW.
Article 35 of the “Grenelle 2” Act (now before Parliament
for approval) will set out the framework for royalties for
the renewal of the hydroelectric concessions.
66 Enel Annual Report 2010 Report on operations
Grenelle de l’Environnement
On May 11, 2010 the National Assembly approved the
“Grenelle 2” Act, which will implement the provisions of
the Grenelle de l’Environnement Act. The law had been approved
by the Senate on October 8, 2009. As the measure
had been declared urgent, the text did not go through a
second reading in the two houses. Instead, it was submitted
to the Commission Mixte Paritaire (CMP, composed of
7 deputies and 7 senators) established on June 17, 2010
to draft a definitive compromise text for final approval by
Parliament. The CMP held its final vote on “Grenelle 2” on
June 28, 2010 and the text was officially published on July
13, 2010.
Some of the changes introduced with “Grenelle 2” have
a direct impact on the energy sector. In addition to extending
the benefits of the obligation d’achat to local
authorities, “Grenelle 2” also introduces a regional planning
system for the climate and energy that also provides
for the preparation of regional plans for the connection
of renewable resources to the network (with priority for
a period of ten years for the renewables capacity set out
in the regional plan). The law also governs the payments
to be made at the time hydroelectric concessions are renewed:
royalties will be specific to each concession and
will depend on the value of plant output (with a specific
ceiling for each plant); the revenues from royalties will be
divided among the State, the provinces and the municipalities
in the proportion of 1/2, 1/3 and 1/6, respectively.
Finally, the rules for authorization of wind projects were
tightened: a regional plan for wind development will redefine
the ZDEs (Zones de Développement Eolien) for each
territory; plants must have a minimum of 5 turbines (with
the exception of plants less than 30 meters tall and a capacity
of less than 250 kW) and be located at least 500
meters from inhabited areas. In addition, wind plants with
structures more than 50 meters tall are required to comply
with the ICPE, a more complex procedure for plants with a
larger potential environmental impact.
Renewable energy support law
In December 2010, the Ministry of Energy, using the auction
mechanisms envisaged for installations in the electricity
sector set out in Law 2000-108 of February 10, 2000,
launched two auctions for wind and biomass power. Tenders
for the biomass auction must be submitted by the
end of February 2011, while for the wind auction the Ministry
defined the zones covered (Corsica and the French
Antilles) and set May 2011 as the deadline for tenders.