France has had to pare back the planned installation of new wind and solar capacity to 2035 owing to sluggish electricity demand forecasts, Les Echos reported citing unnamed sources, ahead of government plans to announce a new 10-year energy planning law later on Thursday.
The government also plans to reverse a previous legal mandate to shut down 14 nuclear reactors, the report said.
The law, which governs wind and solar tenders for the sector, is three years late and will be published by decree, due to a divide between lawmakers that has pitted support for renewable subsidies against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to finance at least six new nuclear reactors.
France will aim to have 15 gigawatts of installed offshore wind capacity in 2035, down from 18 GW the government had signalled last year, Les Echos reported.
The target for total installed onshore wind capacity by 2035 will be 35 GW to 40 GW, according to Les Echos, down from the 45 GW communicated last year. Solar capacity will be between 55 GW and 80 GW by 2035, the report added, compared to a current 31 GW of installed capacity.
France's finance ministry, which handles energy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figures.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Joe Bavier)
