The policy of development of renewable energies. Analysis of the report by the Court of Auditors

This publication discusses the content of a report by the French Court of Auditors which addressed the development of renewable energies while taking the issue of intermittency and the consequences of the introduction of intermittent sources in the electric grid into account. The author identifies some limitations and insufficiencies in this report: it only addressed renewable energies whereas the notion of energy transition integrates other aspects such as energy efficiency, it does not discuss the decision of decreasing the share of nuclear energy from 78.5 to 50 per cent by 2025, its does not mention some economical consequences of the development of renewable energies, and it only uses data produced by the ADEME. The author recalls and comments some basic data related to CO2 emissions, to electricity cost and price in France. He discusses the issue and level of over-costs related to renewable energies, comments the policy of financial support to renewable energies, the progression of renewable energies and the fact that target figures are not yet reached as far as renewable electricity, renewable heat production, social and economical aspects, and climate are concerned