Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

Last week we presented a joint paper on energy policy in France . The paper is part of the Research project REMIX and has been presented, in a preliminary version, at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) in Oslo, on 7 September 2017. The draft version of the paper called "An EU-induced turn to a marked-based France RES governance" is available here . The paper is a multidisciplinary collaboration between law and political science. The final version of the paper will be available by the end of 2017. Authors : Catherine Banet, University of Oslo, Faculty of Law, and Jørgen Wettestad, Fridtjof Nansen Institute. More about the REMIX Project here .

The European Commission has announced on 7 April 2017 that it has opened an in-depth investigation into the German plans to establish a capacity mechanism in the form of an electricity capacity reserve . The investigation aims to establish whether the German proposal of an electricity capacity mechanism complies with EU state aid rules . Of particular relevance for the assessment are the  Guidelines on State aid rules for energye and environmental protection (2014-2020) (so-called EEAG). This in-depth investigation comes after the adoption, by the Commission of an EU Sector Inquiry, common assessment criteria in the EEAG and a series of decisions on capacity market mechanisms in several EU Member States (UK, France, Germany).

The European Commission announced on 8 November that it has approved the national-wide capacity mechanism in France under the EU state aid rules . In its press release, the European Commission makes clear that, in order to adopt such a positive decision, France had to make some amendments to its scheme. Security of energy supply was also one of the main grounds for allowing the measure. The full text of the decision is not yet available, but the press release is available here

The European Commission has announced on 13 November 2015 the opening of two in-depth investigations to assess the conformity of two measures adopted by the French government under EU state aid rules , namely: the forthcoming national capacity mechanism , and a specific tender procedure for the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Brittany.

Following its   decision of 9 October 2015 , the   French Council of State (Conseil d'Etat)   has lodged on 19 October a request for   preliminary ruling   to the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) concerning the   conformity of the French capacity market mechanism to primary EU law , and in particular   Article 34 and 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) on free movement rules .  The question referred to the Court will be a new opportunity for the latter to pronounce itself on restrictions to the free movement of goods based on nationality for the purpose of security of energy supply . Parallels can be drawn with the 2014 decision of the Court in the Ålands Vindkraft case in relation to another certificates market (the French scheme being by design a trading scheme) - although based on another justification ground, i.e. environmental protection - (see my comment here ) and to refresh its case law in Campus Oil decision r...