Support mechanisms for the production of electricity from renewable sources.

Summary The European Union is pursuing a major policy to develop renewable energies, with the aim of increasing their share of total energy consumption to 20% by 2020. Within this framework, France has implemented a policy to support the production of renewable electricity, through support mechanisms consisting of direct subsidies for this production. However, this method of support is facing several problems that call into question its sustainability. On the one hand, the evolution of the internal electricity market policy raises the question of the compatibility of support mechanisms with the provisions of European Union law on free movement and state aid. On the other hand, the significant development of renewable electricity production may jeopardize the balance of the French electricity system. In order to address these obstacles, France has adopted a major reform of these support mechanisms and has put in place several additional measures to adapt the growth of renewable electricity production to the constraints of the electricity system. Based on recent developments in positive law and on the doctrines developed by institutional actors in the internal electricity market, the thesis assesses the capacity of this reform to adapt the support policy for renewable electricity production to these different legal and systemic constraints.