The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €1.3 billion French scheme to support the development of non-fossil flexibility technologies to ensure that the electricity supply matches demand during times of peak consumption.
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The measure contributes to the security of electricity supply and the decarbonisation of the economy, in line with the EU's strategic objectives relating to the European Green Deal.
France notified to the Commission its plans to complement its capacity mechanism with a scheme aimed at developing cost-efficient and non-fossil flexibility technologies.
The objective is to ensure that supply and demand of electricity are kept in balance during peak times such as the winter period, which is a necessary condition for the integration of variable renewable energy sources in the system.
The scheme is open to operators of demand response and storage units, such as large industrial energy consumers, as well as small residential and tertiary services consumers. Capacities involving fossil-fuel generators are not eligible under this scheme.
Under the scheme, operators will receive a payment for being ready to reduce or shift their consumption in case of demand response, or supply previously stored electricity for storage units, to meet the system's needs.
The beneficiaries will be selected through a competitive bidding process. Aid will be granted to the operators who offer the lowest aid amount per offered capacity volume within the limits of the auctioned capacity.
The measure will run until the first quarter of 2026, when the French authorities intend to reform the existing capacity mechanism. ■
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