France forecast as wind energy leader

France is set to become Europe’s second-biggest generator of electricity from wind power behind Germany by 2030, overtaking the UK and Spain thanks to policies being put in place by the current government, according to an industry association.

WindEurope’s CE Giles Dickson told a conference in Paris on Wednesday that France’s outlook for offshore and onshore wind power projects was the best in Europe.

“France is number four in terms of installed capacity. We estimate that by 2030, thanks to the policies of the current government, France will overtake the UK and Spain in terms of installed capacity,” he said.

He declined to give figures behind the forecast but said: “From where we are sitting in Brussels, and looking at what is happening across Europe, the outlook for France is maybe the most positive that we are observing.”

The forecast suggested wind’s share of French electricity generating capacity would be above 25% in 2030.

French President Emmanuel Macron plans to increase the share of renewable generation in the French electricity mix by launching a tender competition for 26GW of renewables capacity during his first term