From the GWPF: French Socialists Follow Germany, Shift Away From Nuclear To Renewables
Via Agency France-Press: France on Wednesday unveiled a much-anticipated bill to reduce the country’s dependency on nuclear energy and fossil fuels, after months of intense debate over one of the Socialist government’s pet projects. Experts estimate it will cost the country between 15 and 30 billion euros in investments every year until the so-called “energy transition” is completed.
The planned law, presented to the cabinet by energy and environment minister Segolene Royal, seeks to make France a greener country and reduce the nation’s energy bill.
The bill is a chance “to develop new technologies, clean transport, energy efficiency and therefore to improve companies’ competitiveness,” Royal told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
It aims to cut the country’s final energy consumption in half by 2050 and reduce the use of fossil fuels by 30 percent by 2030, in comparison with 2012 when Francois Hollande was elected president.
It also looks to reduce France’s huge dependency on nuclear energy for electricity from 75 percent to 50 percent — one of Hollande’s campaign promises — and to increase the use of renewables.
The bill lays out scores of measures including an obligation to make buildings and houses more energy efficient during renovations and installing seven million charging stations for electric cars over the next 15 years.
The bill, which still has to go through a long parliamentary process, was the subject of an intense nine-month debate as companies, NGOs, lawmakers and unions each fought their corners.
Experts estimate it will cost the country between 15 and 30 billion euros in investments every year until the so-called “energy transition” is completed.
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Cheap, reliable nuclear energy is what keeps socialist French economy afloat.
Looks like the decline of France has started.
Except isn’t Germany now shying away from renewables by cutting solar subsidies and looking at fracking?
Look for the competitiveness gap between France and Germany to widen even more as President Hollande’s economy and now energy policy degrade the French economy.
‘seeks to make France a greener country and reduce the nation’s energy bill’
hahahahahahahahahahah
What they are smoking over there?
the Green Shift in Canada, and the Carbon Tax in Australia.
How did the governments that brought these programs in, fare in the next poll?
Rheotorical question of course. They tanked, and in a most spectacular fashion.
But, from an investment perspective, coal and gas are where to put your money. Because they will end up replacing the nukes, much as is happening in Germany.
Nuclear energy was the one thing France did right.
…when they weren’t exporting nuclear technology to islamic whackos that is.
One of the only countries in europe that actually did have a low “carbon footprint” while still producing reasonably priced energy. Now they get to pick which TWO of the following they wish to keep.
1) affordable energy
2) continues energy
3) low CO2
Without Nuclear they can’t have all three
This makes no sense whatsoever, even from an CAGW point of view. Their electricity production is around 85% nuclear and 10% hydro, and so, almost 100% CO2 free. Converting nuclear to wind will only increase CO2 production, as peaking gas plants will need to pick up the slack.
I hadn’t realised how strongly the EU has been captured by the green lobby with their back-to-the-stone-age designs for Western economies.
I thought the German abandonment of nuclear was an anomaly caused by momentary panic after the tsunami hit Japanese nuclear reactors. I assumed Obama’s death plan for the US economy was a stupidity brought on by waning popularity and a crude attempt to regain it.
Now I’m not so sure because there is a pattern of decision-making which will result in severe economic damage. Looking further afield India has active damage being done to its economic growth by Greenpeace and the list goes on.
From some perspectives it is beginning to look as if the ‘green’ movement is as, if not more, dangerous to western civilisation than al quaeda or Islamic terrorism. How long, I wonder, before we have to begin reacting to it in the same way the Indian government is now doing.
Exactly, reduce the nations energy bill? Slimy words, what they mean is reduce the nations energy consumption because there won’t be enough energy to go round and thus with much less energy to use, the overall bill will be less but per watt used will be greater.
Of course the public will subsidise the green energy and the cost will be even greater.
How many nuclear accidents (of any kind that posed a credible health-threatening release of radiation) has France had since the first of its commercial power reactors went online? How many reactors generating electricity are in operation?
I say good; sorry France. The more failed experiments we can point to here in the U.S. the more ammo we will have to fight the same policies being enacted here, if it isn’t already too late.
Didn’t know it was windy in France.
/sarc
I hope no one chokes on this story. What a crock!
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-turning-point-new-hope-for-the-climate-20140618?print=true
Horray! Since I despise anything and everything FRENCH…watching them commit suicide is NOT really a tragedy for me. You know, when the Moslems in France realize what abject cowards the (dwindling) traditional French population are, they may….just MAY, after they TAKE OVER allow a few “Frenchmen” (or more likely, Women…good for the Polyligamy situation) survive. Just as museum pieces. HAS ANYONE EVER TAKEN THE TIME TO COMPARE THE SHAMEFUL, HIDIOUS FRENCH NATIONAL ANTHEM TO THE NATIONAL ANTHEM OF THE UNITED STATES? That comparison alone, tells you almost everything. “Clutched to our bloody breasts…” compared with “Or’ the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming..” Let’s hope this is just WINDOW DRESSING, for their sakes. A country with 100% nuclear electricity and a complete nuclear fuel cycle, changing to 100% UNCLEAR energy and a complete non-nuclear fool cycle.
This is the same country that drove off competitive solar firms with an effective made-in-France requirement. And the same country that is still sliding economically and teetering financially in the EU.
Vote for Socialists! Guaranteed results!
The result ? – as presently seen in the US and elsewhere, the stratospheric escalation of power prices and the expansion of an unterklasse of power impoverished, excluding of course, the Green elite. Whether they’ll still be able to vote by then remains another question.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/price-electricity-hit-record-may
Good luck reducing their energy usage by 50%! Next thing you know, they’ll be buying gas from Russia and default on the bill!
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
And the idiocy continues.
It will be interesting to see how they store the wind to power their cars, since wind/solar electricity has no chance to be available to their 7 MM charging stations. They have also declared war on the conventional auto/truck industry with this initiative.
Old England
You say that the French move to expand renewables is “back-to-the-stone-age designs”.
So Germany and France want to expand renewables like all those other backward stone-age countries are doing such as – Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Portugal.
Get real.
I hear Spain has a suplus of solar energy. Why not just buy the surplus of sunny Spain?
“It aims to cut the country’s final energy consumption in half by 2050” …
I don’t understand that statement, is there possibly a translation problem? I’ve never heard of any nation having a goal of reducing energy consumption by 50%.
So how does France think it is going to be able to get her citizens to make “stuff”? You know, to keep its trade balance anywhere near 0, let alone be able to produce and sell more “stuff” than it spends on incoming “stuff”.
This where GDP and GNP differ. The former is based on what you make on your home soil and sell. The later includes GDP plus return on investments made in companies in other countries to make “stuff” they sell.
So bottom line, if France doesn’t want to depend on foreign oil, fine. But decreasing its own energy use is putting themselves back in the same corner they want out of. What is the difference between depending on foreign oil to make your OWN stuff you need or want to buy, and depending on FOREIGN made stuff you need or want to buy?
Idiots.
Good point James. Denmark has a electrical rate of $.40/kWh (Wikipedia) How much do you pay where you live?