As a global nuclear power country, France's energy supply has long relied on nuclear power. In recent years, in order to optimize the energy structure and respond to the global response to climate change and energy transformation, France has begun to increase renewable energy and gradually reduce the energy transformation path dependent on nuclear power.

Jean-Louis Barre, president of the French Renewable Energy Association, said at the 20th Renewable Energy Symposium held at UNESCO Headquarters recently that France has strong technology in the development and innovation of renewable energy, renewable energy. It has become a driving factor in energy transformation in France, Europe and the world.

With the theme of “Renewable Energy: About Civilization”, the seminar brought together nearly 400 government departments, NGOs and business representatives from France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Togo.

Barr said that France has long-term natural conditions for the development of renewable energy: abundant offshore wind resources, water resources, forest resources, and the world's second largest marine exclusive economic zone. At the same time, “France’s world-famous development technology in the energy sector has given France the opportunity to become a major player in the development of renewable energy to promote energy transformation”.

The Green Growth Energy Transformation Act of 2015, which was enacted by France, proposes to reduce the proportion of nuclear power in the energy structure and expand the proportion of renewable energy. The French Ministry of Ecology Transformation and Solidarity announced on January 25 this year a draft of the next 10 years of energy development plan. According to the proposed road map, France will reduce the proportion of nuclear power to 50% in 2035.

According to the plan, by the end of 2028, the installed capacity of renewable energy in France will quadruple the current level, and the newly installed capacity will mainly come from wind power and solar energy. Among them, solar PV installations are expected to reach 35.6 to 44.5 GW (1 GW equals 1000 MW), and onshore wind power is expected to reach 34.1 to 35.6 GW.

Etienne Beck, energy consultant of the French Prime Minister's Office of the French Strategy and Vision, said earlier that wind power in France is only derived from onshore wind power. There is still a gap between offshore wind power development and Germany and the UK. “The French government is now focusing on the development of wind farms in the western French waters and the Mediterranean waters 50 meters away, and with national resources to assist in the development of floating offshore offshore wind farms that are still in the testing stage”.

Arnold Leroy, director of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, said that as the energy transition continues to accelerate, employment in the renewable energy sector will continue to grow rapidly. He suggested that the government plan to organize large-scale renewable energy projects and strengthen cooperation with other European countries in renewable energy projects to form synergies and common development.

Leroux said: "The effective measures to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy will reduce France's dependence on nuclear power generation and help fulfill France's commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change."

At present, French renewable energy is mainly used for power generation. According to the latest statistics of the French power company, in 2018, hydropower, wind energy, solar power and other power generation accounted for 22.7% of the French power structure, up from 2017.