Opportunities for Canadian firms in French renewable energy sector

15 thousand visit Paris renewable energy tradeshow with Canadian companies Solar Wall and Menova Energy among the exhibitors

By 2020, France aims to produce an additional 20 million tons equivalent of oil (MTOE) from renewable energy sources on top of today's 17 MTOE. It's an enormous jump on current production. The well-publicized target has experts like the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) predicting that France's market in energy efficiency will double in four years. The market is already responding with leaps in solar and wind especially.

Denis Trottier, Trade Commissioner, at the Embassy of Canada's booth at SIREME

In photovoltaics, France's largest integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, Photowatt Technologies, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ontario-based ATS Inc.

It's a business climate that can't help but generate a lot of buzz, if you don't mind the pun. 15,400 visitors pored over the wares at the International Trade Exhibition for Renewable Energy and Energy Management (SIREME) in Paris. Canadian companies Solar Wall and Menova Energy as well as the Embassy of Canada were among the 200+ exhibitors.

Market already responding to targets

Sector wide, in 2007 France's energy efficiency market increased by 17% on the previous year, with a growth of 21% of the market in renewable energies. Solar had a spectacular year, growing by 98%, and wind increased by a very respectable 20%.

France's goals follow the implementation of the "triple 20" European energy policy targets for the year 2020:

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in relation to levels recorded in 1990;
• decrease energy consumption by 20%; and,
• achieve over 20% of renewable energy in energy mix supply.

Solar Wall's booth, with Duncan Coutts, Vice President of International Sales and Market Development (at far left).

To meet these targets, by way of example, France's installed photovoltaic capacity has to increase thirty-fold in 10 years. A significant effort would also be required by the wind energy industry.

Needless to say, such ambitious targets will require a lot of investments. But it also means many business opportunities for farsighted Canadian companies.

The next SIREME will take place from June 24 to 26, 2009 at Paris, Porte de Versailles.

For more information on the French renewable energy sector, please contact Denis Trottier at the Embassy of Canada in Paris.

In-depth: France's ambitious renewable energy targets

France aims to produce an additional 20 MTOE (millions tons oil equivalent) of energy from renewable sources in 2020. According to the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), this objective could be achieved as follows:
Biofuels +3, 3 MTOE
Electricity (wind, hydro, photovoltaic solar, geothermal and biomass) + 7, 2 MTOE
Heating (biomass, geothermal, thermal solar, waste & biogas) + 10 MTOE.

Within the electricity portfolio, the anticipated contribution of the solar photovoltaic industry is set at 0, 5 MTOE: that is, a total installed capacity of 5 400 MW in 2020 compared with 175 MW in 2007. To achieve this goal, France's installed photovoltaic capacity would have to increase thirty-fold in 10 years.

The targeted contribution of the wind energy industry is set at 5 MTOE, or bout 60 TW-h. In other words, the nation's current wind energy output would need to increase by a factor of 14 in a decade. In 2007, France generated 4 TW-h (terawatt-hour) of wind electricity, or about 1% of the country's total electricity consumption.

Source: French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME)