France clean-tech review 2013. Light at the end of the tunnel

After a year characterised by caution - if not head-winds - in 2012, encouraging signs can be seen in most of France's clean-tech sectors: new rules are being adopted for solar and onshore wind power; a new call for tenders is pending in offshore wind power; the Linky meter is enjoying a revival of interest, potentially giving a boost to the smart grid sector; eco-mobility has notched up commercial successes; and investments by venture capital funds are soaring. On top of that, a nationwide consultation is underway on the energy transition, aimed at defining a new energy mix. Everything is 'go' again, and 2013 looks promising. Most of the large French players tenaciously continued their expansion in clean technologies in 2012, despite the crisis, although often at a slower pace and with fewer acquisitions: Alstom and Areva in offshore wind power, Total in solar power, Air Liquide in hydrogen, EDF and GDF Suez in renewable energy, Bouygues and Schneider Electric in green building, etc. They are all counting on a surge in these markets. And as they do not want to miss the boat, they have avoided drastic options such the 2012 decision by German company Siemens to draw the curtains on solar power. '2013 will be the year of the energy transition', says Delphine Batho, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Energy, as if to dismiss 2012 as a year forfeited to the electoral calendar. 2013 should therefore see the resumption of major projects, embodied chiefly by the nationwide consultation on the energy transition, which is intended to result in a planning law aimed at achieving a greener energy mix. But the cumulative delay in most sectors looks daunting, and the objectives of the Grenelle Environment Forum are receding inexorably. Venture capital investment in clean-tech in France more than doubled in 2012, setting a record of more than Euros 380 million. A caveat, however, is that this amount was reached thanks to a few very large transactions. Broken down by sector, funds are no longer so keen on renewable energy. They now prefer to diversify their investments, from water treatment to eco-mobility. Finding funding for renewable energy is one of the major challenges of the energy transition. The objectives are decidedly ambitious: France aims to derive 23% of its final energy consumption from renewable energy by 2020. But it will not be possible to achieve this target without a significant financial effort, both public and private. 2012 marked an end of an uninterrupted period of growth in renewable energy investment, with a decline of 35%. Investment is set to resume in solar power in 2013, but the waiting game is likely to prevail in the onshore wind segment.