The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has ruled that incentives to promote wind power generation in France can be considered as state funding, claiming that "the obligation to purchase the electricity generated by wind turbines falls within the concept of an intervention by the State through State resources". Under European rules, state aids have to be notified to the European Commission, to avoid market distortion. The procedure was initiated by a French pressure group opposing onshore wind power.
The French administrative Court, Conseil d'Etat, which had turned to the ECJ, will now have to make a final judgement within two or three months; it is expected to remove the 2008 tariff decree, which was not notified as state aid in time (the new wind tariff was notified as state aid in October 2013).
Anticipating the decision of the ECJ, the French government has already notified to the EU a new wind tariff decree in October 2013. It would pave the way for a new funding regime compatible with EU regulations.
The decision of the European Court of Justice could have a wider impact and push other countries to secure their FiTs. Germany, for example, has not notified its system.
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