INTERVIEW-French wind power sector eyes eightfold growth by 2020

PARIS Oct 2 (Reuters) - French wind power is on track to grow eightfold in the next 12 years, but increasing hostility towards green energy, red tape and soaring costs are obstacles, the head of the renewable energy industry body said on Thursday.

The 27-nation European Union agreed in 2007 that renewable sources should make up 20 percent of the energy mix by 2020 to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, but EU lawmakers and governments must still back draft directives to implement it.

France aims for terrestrial wind energy to reach 20,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020, equivalent to the current German capacity, up from 3,000 MW now, and to build 5,000 MW in offshore wind power capacity by 2020 from scratch.

"I consider those targets to be reasonable," Andre Antolini, head of the Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables SER, told Reuters in an interview.

French renewable energies, which are mostly composed of hydropower, make up 10 percent of all consumed energy and 15 percent of consumed electricity.

France has lagged other EU member states such as Spain and Germany largely due to its nearly CO2-free nuclear capacity, which makes up 80 percent of French electricity needs.

"France is the country in the world in which it's the hardest to develop wind energy despite having the best potential in Europe after the UK," Antolini said.

Some 115,000 MW in wind power capacity will be installed in the world by end-2008 and 170,000 MW by 2010, the SER estimated.

"We have opponents who are very organised, and carry out intense lobbying against wind power with reports which are not scientifically proven. We spend a lot of time establishing the truth," Antolini said.

He cited a report released in July by the independent Montaigne institute, which argued that it would cost the state 1 billion euros ($1.42 billion) per year until 2020 for wind power to make up 10 percent of the French electricity share.

SUBSIDIES

France subsidises wind power through inflated power rates at which state-owned power giant EDF buys the green electricity.

"But it is probable that by 2009, market prices for power will equal the (EDF) buying rates," the head of the renewable energy industry body, which has 350 members, said.

EDF (EDF.PA) buys wind power at 82 euros per megawatt hour, a rate expected to slip by 2 percent per year from 2008.

"Against a background of rising costs for raw materials and energy, we can't say that the buying rates for wind power provide an extraordinary income," Antolini said, adding that it took an average of two years to order turbines and between 30 and 60 months for projects to come to fruition.

He said it was important to remember that wind power had the most mature technology, it was the most competitive green energy, and that it was the most reliable.

"Questioning this technology is also attacking the heart of the plan (to cut CO2 emissions)," he added.

France also lagged its neighbours in solar energy with 24.5 MW switched to the grid and an expected installed capacity of between 100 MW and 120 MW by the end of the year, the SER said.

"We have had delays because the buying rate (by EDF) wasn't high enough and despite a rise in 2006, the level still does not provide enough of an incentive for investors," Antolini added. (Reporting by Muriel Boselli; editing by James Jukwey)