The new European guidelines to support renewable energies: What are the stakes for energy transition?

The European Commission published in April 9 of 2014 its new guidelines on State aid for environmental and energy matters. They inaugurate a stronger supervision which aims to bring together national policies to support renewable energies and to make them converge towards innovative instruments. Coupled with the objectives of the energy and climate package, the Commission aims to make it the basis of a genuine European policy in favor of renewable energies. - Due to the adoption of feed-in premiums (FiPs), access to the distribution network for green electricity will be on market terms, without priority. By exposing the producers of green electricity to market risk without increasing the amount of aid, the text puts a hindrance to the development of renewable energy sources. - The preferential use of tenders is expected to limit the cost of support. It allows public authorities a better control of the development of renewable energy sources, but it comes at the cost of increased regulatory risk for investors. - The generous exemption regime for electricity-intensive industries anchors the system in a pro-competitive funding logic, but potentially at the expense of households and electricity- extensive industries. - Permission to discriminate the support according to the degree of maturity of technologies opens the door to possible litigation due to a risk of overlap with state aids for research, development and innovation (RDI). (author)