The Côte d’Azur, like the Brittany region, finds itself in a fragile situation regarding electricity supply. To address this, Minister Jean-Louis BORLOO had set ambitious goals to build, via RTE, a safety net on the supply network, reduce energy consumption by 15% by 2013 and 20% by 2020, and increase the share of energy produced locally on the Côte d’Azur from 10% today to 15% in 2012 and 25% in 2020.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nice Côte d’Azur is concerned about the declaration by Prime Minister François FILLON on December 2nd, instituting a 4-month moratorium on photovoltaic plant projects. This decision suspends all non-connected photovoltaic projects during the said period.
This interruption puts the Côte d’Azur in a difficult position, even making it impossible, to achieve its already ambitious objectives set by its peers.
It seems essential to adapt these texts to the energy precarity of the Côte d’Azur and Brittany.
Thus, the CCI Nice Côte d’Azur proposes the following:
1. Modify the draft decree to exempt the Côte d’Azur and Brittany from the 4-month moratorium to allow the uninterrupted development of photovoltaic projects in these areas,
2. At a time when the Government is considering another reduction in the purchase rates of photovoltaic energy, it would be appropriate to recognize in future purchase rates the electrical supply fragility of our department and to keep unchanged purchase rates until the end of 2012, especially for the roofs of industrial and commercial buildings,
3. Establish a one-stop shop coordinating the opinions of local authorities, ERDF, administrations, and the State for the administrative formalities of major photovoltaic plant projects in the Alpes-Maritimes with the strict objective of meeting deadlines,
4. An ERDF commitment to connect significant photovoltaic plants to low voltage within 2 months after their installation, as provided by Grenelle 2 for individual installations
The energy supply constraints in the Alpes-Maritimes can be an opportunity for its economy.
If all these measures succeed, they could notably help preserve nearly 500 jobs in SMEs/SMIs in the solar sector of the Côte d’Azur and the competitiveness cluster Capenergies.
Indeed, the entire solar sector in the department is concerned about the consequences of the moratorium on their activity.
