REVIEW ASSESSMENT ON WIND FARM LOCATIONS IN THE WEST OF FRANCE SINCE COP 21 - DIVA PORTAL

DEGREE PROJECT IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING,
SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2021

Review assessment on wind farm
locations
in the West of France since COP 21

PAUL MARCHENOIR

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Review assessment on wind farm locations in
 the West of France since COP 21

Paul Marchenoir

Master in Electrical Engineering
Date: February 11, 2021
Examiner: Lina Bertling Tjernberg
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Host company: Valeco

 1

Abstract

The development of wind power in France is a very sensitive subject. Indeed, most of the electricity
produced in France comes from nuclear energy, and therefore changing the French energy mix to not
only depend on production is a very ambitious challenge. Similarly, the COP 21 organized in Paris is
one of the illustrations of the work done since the Grenelle Environment Forum to integrate renewable
energies into the electricity grid.

This thesis attempts to understand the legislative and technical issues to be taken into account for the
implementation of a wind farm in France, particularly in the western regions of France (Brittany and
Pays-de-la-Loire). Many factors are to be considered when prospecting for a wind project. Local,
aeronautical, environmental and heritage constraints are among the most restrictive easements that
can restrict or even cancel the potential of a wind farm. This report first attempts to show how best to
integrate all the data to be considered on a concrete project, that of Séglien in Morbihan in Brittany.

In a second step, a business plan will be evaluated to determine the feasibility of implementing this
project on site. By studying the choice of topology, the choice of machines and the connection point
of the project to the French electrical network, a theoretical LCOE can be estimated. This LCOE will
allow Valeco, a renewable energy producer in France, to position itself on the French electricity
market.

According to the results obtained by this business plan, the choice to select one turbine rather than
another can be influenced not only by the power curves of the machine as one might think, but also
by important factors such as the noise made by the machine. Indeed, noise is a factor that can force
the developer to clamp the machine and thus produce less electricity. In the same way, the
optimization of the electrical topology can drastically reduce the CAPEX of a project. Indeed the
electrical connection is one of the most expensive data of the project. A reduction of the connection
distance by a factor of three allows to save about 2.5 million euros and thus to reduce the LCOE by 4.5
€/MWh. This also allows to position the project on lower tenders. An intelligent use of Aluminum
instead of copper when possible also allows to reduce the CAPEX of the project. However, this thesis
does not estimate the cost of social acceptance, because the perception of the French people of the
multiplication of industrial wind farms is different according to their social, demographic, cultural and
economic characteristics and therefore difficult to quantify.

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Sammanfattning

Utvecklingen av vindkraft i Frankrike är ett känsligt ämne. Idag kommer den största andelen el som
produceras i Frankrike från kärnenergi. Därför är det en mycket ambitiös utmaning att ändra den
franska energimixen för att domineras av förnyelsebara energikällor liksom vindkraft. På samma sätt
är COP 21 organiserad i Paris en av illustrationerna av det arbete som utförts sedan Grenelle
Environment Forum för att integrera förnybar energi i elnätet.

Detta arbete försöker förstå de lagstiftnings- och tekniska frågor som ska beaktas vid utbyggnad en
vindkraftspark i Frankrike, särskilt i de västra regionerna i Frankrike (Bretagne och Pays-de-la-Loire).
Många faktorer ska beaktas vid prospektering av ett vindprojekt. Lokala, flyg-, miljö- och kulturella
intressen leder till begränsningar och kan även leda till att avslag från att exploatera
vindkraftsparker. Denna studie försöker i ett första steg visa hur man bäst integrerar all information
som ska beaktas i ett konkret vindkraftsprojekt, Séglien i Morbihan i Bretagne.

I ett andra steg utvärderas en affärsplan för att genomföra vindkraftsprojektet. Genom att studera
valet av topologi, valet av maskiner och projektets anslutningspunkt till det franska elnätet kan en
teoretisk LCOE uppskattas. LCOE gör det möjligt för Valeco, en producent av förnybar energi i
Frankrike, att positionera sig på den franska elmarknaden.

Enligt resultat från studierna med aktuell affärsplan kan valet att välja en turbin snarare än en annan
påverkas inte bara av vindturbinens effektkurvor, som man kan tro, utan också av viktiga faktorer
som buller från turbinerna. För att minska buller kan exempelvis vindkraftsturbiner behöva stängas
av vilket leder till minskad elproduktion. På samma sätt kan optimeringen av den elektriska topologin
drastiskt minska CAPEX i ett projekt. Den elektriska anslutningen är en av de dyraste faktorerna i ett
vindkraftsprojektet. En minskning av anslutningsavståndet med en faktor på tre gör det möjligt att
spara cirka 2,5 miljoner euro och därmed minska LCOE med 4,5 € / MWh. Detta gör det också möjligt
att placera projektet på lägre anbud. En intelligent användning av aluminium istället för koppar när
det är möjligt gör det också möjligt att minska projektets CAPEX. Denna avhandling uppskattar dock
inte kostnaden för social acceptans, eftersom det franska folks uppfattning om förökningen av
industriella vindkraftparker är olika beroende på deras sociala, demografiska, kulturella och
ekonomiska egenskaper och därför svårt att kvantifiera.

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Table of Figures

Figure 1: Map of Valeco branches in France, Valeco ............................................................................ 11
Figure 2: Tuchan (Solar Power) and Lunel (Wind farm), Valeco ........................................................... 11
Figure 3 : The French Energy mix in 2019, FEE ...................................................................................... 17
Figure 4 : Objectives in terms of installed capacity as determined by the PPE, FEE ............................. 18
Figure 5 : Wind Power in France after 31 march 2020, FEE .................................................................. 18
Figure 6: French electrical consumption coverage in 2019, FEE ........................................................... 18
Figure 7: Wind power and electricity production in Pays-de-la-Loire, FEE ........................................... 19
Figure 8 : Location of Séglien ................................................................................................................ 20
Figure 9 : Local context at Séglien, Valeco ............................................................................................ 22
Figure 10: Wind speed extrapolation .................................................................................................... 24
Figure 11: Mean wind speed in France, MétéoFrance .......................................................................... 24
Figure 12: Weibull distribution at Séglien ............................................................................................. 25
Figure 13 :Map of all the RTBA in France, Army.................................................................................... 26
Figure 14: Map of the VOLTAC zone in France, Army ........................................................................... 26
Figure 15 : Map of all the SETBA zone in France, Army ........................................................................ 27
Figure 16 :Map of weather radar range in France, MétéoFrance ......................................................... 28
Figure 17 : Aeronautical context next to Séglien, Valeco...................................................................... 29
Figure 18 : map of all the ZNIEFFs in France, MNHM............................................................................ 31
Figure 19: NRP In France, Supagro Institute.......................................................................................... 32
Figure 20 : Environmental context next to Séglien, Valeco ................................................................. 33
Figure 21 : Patrimonial context next to Séglien, Valeco ....................................................................... 34
Figure 22: Saint-Germain chapel, photo credit: Lanzonnet .................................................................. 34
Figure 23 : Saint-Laurent chapel, photo credit : Elita1 .......................................................................... 34
Figure 24: Locmaria chapel, photo credit: XIIIfromTOKYO ................................................................... 34
Figure 25: The 3 study zones at Séglien, Valeco.................................................................................... 36
Figure 26: Environmental sensitivity on the ZIP at Séglien during exploitation, Calidris ...................... 40
Figure 27 :Environmental sensitivity on the ZIP during construction, Calidris ..................................... 41
Figure 28: Photomontage of the wind farm from Sifliac and Langoëland, Calidris .............................. 42
Figure 29: Wind rose on site, AWS ........................................................................................................ 43
Figure 30: First topological layout ......................................................................................................... 44
Figure 31: Productible Comparison and first LCOE ............................................................................... 46
Figure 32: Remuneration scheme, FEE.................................................................................................. 48
Figure 33: Feed-in-premium scheme, FEE ............................................................................................. 48
Figure 34 : S3RENR Schemes and the national grid situation, FEE and RTE .......................................... 50
Figure 35: Connection charges for generation at distribution and transmission level, EWEA ............. 51
Figure 36 : Scheme of a power line ....................................................................................................... 53
Figure 37 : Electrical connection between the wind turbines, Valeco .................................................. 56
Figure 38: Voltage drop in the line (Pontivy) ........................................................................................ 57
Figure 39:Voltage drop in the line (Locmalo) ........................................................................................ 57
Figure 40:Droop curve for FCR response .............................................................................................. 63

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Table of Tables

Tableau 1: MétéoFrance radar exclusion perimeter ............................................................................. 27
Tableau 2: Civil Aviation exclusion perimeter, DGAC ............................................................................ 29
Tableau 3: Type of impact and examples .............................................................................................. 35
Tableau 4: Study areas and its caracteristics ........................................................................................ 36
Tableau 5: Noise Emergence ................................................................................................................. 38
Tableau 6: Period for observing the fauna ........................................................................................... 39
Tableau 7: Data of the wind turbines chosen for the study .................................................................. 43
Tableau 8: Quote-part for the French Regions in 2020, RTE ................................................................. 52
Tableau 9: Data of the potential wind farm .......................................................................................... 53
Tableau 10: Maximum current for 2 cables side-by-side, AFNOR (21) ................................................ 54
Tableau 11: MV costs ............................................................................................................................ 55
Tableau 12: Costs with a PDL at the end of the site .............................................................................. 55
Tableau 13 : Costs with a PDL at the middle of the site ........................................................................ 56
Tableau 14: Costs of the the Séglien project ........................................................................................ 61
Tableau 15: current carrying capacity in a three-phase circuit, AFNOR ............................................... 72
Tableau 16 : correction factor in the connection trench, AFNOR ......................................................... 73
Tableau 17: Resistance and Capacity for different cable cross-sections, Nexans................................. 73
Tableau 18 : Sound power level of the different wind turbines considered, Alhyange Acoustique..... 74
Tableau 19: Tables summarizing the various studies carried out for the Séglien project .................... 78
Tableau 20: Power curve of Enercon E-138 3.5 MW............................................................................. 79
Tableau 21: Power curve of Nordex N117 3.6 MW............................................................................... 80
Tableau 22: Power curve of Nordex N117 2.4 MW............................................................................... 81
Tableau 23: Power curve of Nordex N131 3.6 MW .............................................................................. 82

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Nomenclature

AC : Alternative Current

ADEME : Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie (Environment and Energy
Management Agency)

aFRR : automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve

ANFR : Agence Nationale des Fréquences (National Frequencies Agency)

CAPEX : CAPital EXpenditure

CDC : Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation

COP : Conference of Parties

CSA : Above Surface

CSPE : Contribution au Service Public de l'Electricité (Contribution to the Public Electricity Service)

DGAC : Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (General Direction of the Civil Aviation)

DSO : Distribution System Operators

DY : Delivery Year

EnR : Energie Renouvelable (Renewable Energy)

EPP : Energy Pluriannual Program

FCR : Frequency Containment Reserve

FiT: Feed-in Tariff

ICPE : Installations Classées pour la Protection de l'Environnement (Classified Installations for the
Protection of the Environment)

LCOE : Levelized Cost of Energy

mFRR : manual Frequency Restoration Reserve

MV : Medium Voltage

OPEX: OPerational EXpenditure

PADD : Projet d'Aménagement et de Développement Durable (Planning and Sustainable
Development Project)

PCAET : Plan Climat Air-Energie Territorial

PDL : Poste de Livraison (Delivery Station)

PDN : Public Distribution Network

PLU : Plan local d’urbanisme (Local urban plan)

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PLUi : Plan local d’urbanisme intercommunaux (Inter-municipal local urban development plan)

PPA : Power Purchase Agreement

PS : Poste Source

RNP : Regional Nature Park

RR : Replacement Reserve

RTBA : Réseau Très Basse Altitude (Very Low Altitude Network)

S3REnR : Schéma régional de raccordement au réseau des énergies renouvelables (Regional scheme
for connection to the renewable energy network)

SAC : Special Area of Conservation

SoC : State of Charge

SPA : Special Protection Area

SRADDET : Schémas Régionaux d’Aménagement, de Développement Durable et d’Egalité des
territoires (Regional Planning, Sustainable Development and Regional Equality Schemes)

SRE : Schéma Régional Eolien (Regional Wind Power Scheme)

TSO : Transmission System Operator

TURPE : Tarif d'utilisation du réseau public d'électricité (Tariff for use of the public electricity system)

UNFCCC : United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

VOLTAC : VOL TACtique

WSM : Wind Sector Management

ZDE : Zone de Développement Eolien (Wind Development Zone)

ZIP : Zone d’implantation potentielle (Potential location area)

ZNIEFF : Zone Naturelle d'Intérêt Ecologique, Faunistique et Floristique (Natural Area of Ecological,
Faunistic and Floristic Interest)

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Acknowledgements

First of all, I would like to thank the entire Valeco team who allowed me to learn more about wind
energy. I would like to thank Brice, Martin and Valentin who were kind enough to answer all my
questions about their respective fields of expertise. I thank Nicolas T and Nicolas P for their
availability and for having welcomed me as it should be. I felt there a small family in the same boat.

I would also like to thank my examiner, Lina Bertling Tjernberg, who was able to answer my
questions and who went to great lengths each time I asked for her help. I would also like to thank
KTH for the quality of the courses taught, and in particular the Wind Power course, which has
aroused in me a real interest in the sector.

Finally I want to thank my family, my friends who have been there for me in these complicated times
for everyone. I thank especially Anaëlle who knew how to support me during all this extraordinary
adventure. I finish by thanking God for having put on my path all these incredible people.

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Table of contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Sammanfattning ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Table of Tables......................................................................................................................................... 5
Nomenclature.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 8
I) Valeco ............................................................................................................................................ 11
II) Grenelle II, COP 21, medium and long-term objective ................................................................. 13
 a) History ....................................................................................................................................... 13
 b) COP 21 ....................................................................................................................................... 14
 c) The Energy Pluriannual Program (EPP) ..................................................................................... 16
III) Wind power in France and the Great West............................................................................... 17
 a) French energy mix ..................................................................................................................... 17
 b) Great West ................................................................................................................................ 19
IV) Prospecting ................................................................................................................................ 20
 a) Thesis method ........................................................................................................................... 20
 b) Local context ............................................................................................................................. 21
 c) Windy Region ............................................................................................................................ 23
 d) Aerial easements ....................................................................................................................... 25
 ARMY : ........................................................................................................................................... 25
 Méteo France ................................................................................................................................ 27
 DGAC Radar ................................................................................................................................... 28
 e) Environmental Easements ......................................................................................................... 30
 SPA ................................................................................................................................................. 30
 SCA................................................................................................................................................. 30
 ZNIEFF ............................................................................................................................................ 31
 RNP ................................................................................................................................................ 31
 f) Heritage easement .................................................................................................................... 33
V) Study on site .................................................................................................................................. 35
 a) Definition of study areas ........................................................................................................... 35
 b) Acoustic study ........................................................................................................................... 37
 c) Environmental study ................................................................................................................. 39
 d) Landscape study ........................................................................................................................ 41
VI) Choosing wind turbine .............................................................................................................. 43
 a) Topological layout ..................................................................................................................... 43

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b) Losses ........................................................................................................................................ 44
 c) Turbine selection ....................................................................................................................... 45
VII) Financial study ........................................................................................................................... 47
 a) Electricity market ...................................................................................................................... 47
 b) Connection Grid......................................................................................................................... 49
 c) Cable sizing ................................................................................................................................ 52
 d) LCOE........................................................................................................................................... 58
 e) CAPEX and OPEX ........................................................................................................................ 60
VIII) Storage and Wind farm ............................................................................................................. 62
 a) Grid stability .............................................................................................................................. 62
 Frequency ...................................................................................................................................... 62
 Capacity mechanism...................................................................................................................... 64
 Voltage........................................................................................................................................... 65
 b) Arbitrage .................................................................................................................................... 65
IX) Further Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 67
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 68
References ............................................................................................................................................. 69
Appendix................................................................................................................................................ 72

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I) Valeco

To carry out this end-of-study project, I did an internship from September 2020 to February 2021 at
Valeco, a developer of renewable energy throughout France. I worked at the Nantes agency in the
west of France, trying to find new potential projects in the Pays-de-la-Loire and Brittany regions. I was
able to have access to a number of resources, software for estimating the wind speed in these areas,
but also mapping software for the various constraints that wind turbines have to respect, which will
be developed later in this thesis.

 Figure 1: Map of Valeco branches in France, Valeco

Valeco is a company created in 1995 by the Gay family, and historically based in Montpellier in the
South of France. Valeco was originally an electricity producer; and quickly turned to the production of
renewable energy, in particular wind and solar power plants. The first wind farm was commissioned in
2001 in Tuchan near Montpellier, the largest wind farm in France at the time of its construction. This
park, consisting of 15 machines with a connected power of 11.7 MW, was one of the most productive
in France. In 2008 Valeco installed the first French solar power plant with a peak power of 500 kWp on
a surface of 1.50 ha in Lunel near Montpellier. These two examples make Valeco one of the pioneers
in the development of renewable energy in France.

 Figure 2: Tuchan (Solar Power) and Lunel (Wind farm), Valeco

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Valeco's growth also took off in 2008. Indeed, the "Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation" (CDC) has
decided to take a stake in the company's capital. The CDC is a public investment fund with the aim of
helping companies to grow so that they can develop further. It is thanks to the investment of the CDC
that Valeco has been able to develop in France, and not only in the South near Montpellier. This is how
different agencies have been able to set up, starting in the North with Amiens, then with agencies in
Paris, Dijon, Toulouse and Nantes. This has enabled Valeco to be at the heart of the territories, and to
have a local proximity that favours the development of renewable energy.

In 2018, the first repowering of a wind turbine took place. At the end of the park's life, the replacement
of the wind turbines with more efficient turbines may be considered. This will be explained in more
detail later in this thesis. In 2019 the CDC decides to withdraw from the company's capital. The Gay
family decided not to buy back these shares. It is finally ENBW, one of the largest German energy
companies, which bought back 100% of the company's shares. This takeover of Valeco by ENBW is a
win-win situation: on the one hand ENBW, through its capital, allows Valeco to position itself on
tenders on which it would never have been able to position itself before (notably on national tenders
for offshore wind farms amounting to billions of euros); on the other hand Valeco offers ENBW a strong
territorial anchorage in France. ENBW has the ambition to make Valeco one of the five best renewable
energy developers in France.

Valeco is currently present at all stages of a wind power project: it carries out the entire project for the
various wind farms: feasibility studies, site identification, territorial impact studies, etc.; but also its
construction, operation and dismantling. Today Valeco has more than 500 MW of installed power with
175 wind turbines and 37 solar farms, and is one of the main players in the production of renewable
energy in France. (1)

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II) Grenelle II, COP 21, medium and long-term objective

 a) History

The fight against global warming is not new. It is a sensitive subject, a collective awareness of a global
problem. In 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations adopted a framework for
action to combat global warming: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). This convention brings together almost all the countries in the world that are referred to as
"Parties". Their representatives have been meeting once a year since 1995 at the "COPs" (Conferences
of Parties).

It is notably during these COPs that the signatory states can ratify agreements on the reduction of
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with common or differentiated objectives. They also assess
the progress of their commitments and the implementation of the Framework Convention.
Negotiation sessions are held prior to these summits. The COPs bring together the representatives of
the Parties but also non-State actors: local authorities, NGOs, scientists, etc. COP21 is part of a long
process of international climate negotiations, the ins and outs of which will be examined in order to
understand how the Paris agreements can be described as historic.

In 1992 the third Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro. These Earth Summits take place every 10
years in different major world cities. In Rio de Janeiro the states recognised the existence of man-made
climate change and committed themselves to combating global warming within the framework of an
international convention. However, it is not legally binding. On the contrary, it recognises the
sovereignty of states to "exploit their own resources in accordance with their environmental and
development policies". (2)

In 1997, the third COP was held in Kyoto, which led to the famous "Kyoto Protocol". The initial objective
of the Kyoto Protocol was to achieve during the commitment period 2008-2012 a reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions of human origin by at least 5% (in the countries committed) compared to
1990 levels. To enter into force, it had to be ratified by 55 developed countries accounting for at least
55% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 1990. Only 37 industrialised countries have actually
committed to the targets of the scheme, with the notable exception of the United States, which was
the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The United States signed it but never ratified it. In practice,
the sanctions for non-compliance with the Kyoto Protocol have never been clearly defined. Moreover,
the agreement is not legally binding to date. The protocol has been a success for the countries that
ratified it, since the reduction of man-made greenhouse gas emissions in those countries has exceeded
20%. However, as the protocol is not global, it has not succeeded in reducing global greenhouse gas
emissions.

In 2009, in Copenhagen, the COP 15 took place. Countries committed themselves to limiting global
warming to 2°C compared to 1850, but without setting binding targets to achieve this. The Copenhagen
conference was an important turning point in the climate negotiations. It showed that an agreement
cannot be successful unless it is universally validated, transparent and assessable. This has led to a
major shift in climate negotiations from a top-down to a bottom-up approach, rather than a shared
effort. From the countries' point of view, the fight against climate change is therefore no longer simply

 13

a question of emissions and the distribution of efforts, but also of technological, economic and social
choices and vision for the future.

In order to concretely implement the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol that France has ratified, and
with the aim of limiting global warming to 2°C promised at the Copenhagen conference; in France, the
law on the national commitment to the environment, known as "Grenelle 2 de l’environnement", was
promulgated on 12 July 2010. This law corresponds to the implementation of part of the 2009 Grenelle
de l'Environnement commitments. It places the fight against climate change "at the top of the agenda".
The fight against climate change has three main thrusts:

 - Reducing energy consumption ;
 - The prevention of greenhouse gas emissions;
 - The promotion of renewable energies.

Within the framework of the promotion of renewable energies and with regard to wind turbines, the
government has more clearly defined the stakes and objectives, along three main lines.

 - Regional wind energy schemes (SRE) will be established , which will include geographical
areas favourable to the implantation of wind turbines in France, at the regional level.

 - As of 2011, wind turbines will be subject to the ICPE (Installations Classified for the Protection
of the Environment) regime, making their installation more difficult but controlled. An installation
classified for environmental protection is an installation operated or owned by any natural or legal
person, public or private, which may present dangers or inconveniences either for the convenience of
the neighbourhood, or for public health, safety, public health, agriculture, or for the protection of
nature, the environment and the landscape, or for the rational use of energy, or for the conservation
of sites and monuments as well as elements of the archaeological heritage. (6)

 - Government commits to build at least 500 wind turbines per year (5)

 b) COP 21

In 2015 Paris was hosting COP 21. The general objective of COP 21 is the same as that announced at
the Copenhagen Conference: to limit global warming to 2°C compared to 1850. It goes even a little
further, adding that the efforts of the States must be intensified in order to hope to limit the
generalised increase in temperature to 1.5°C.

To achieve this goal, the main issues at COP 21 were therefore to reach an agreement :

 - Who proposes concrete actions to meet the set objective?
 - Which is suitable for all countries involved to ratify;
 - Legally binding so that States have a duty to put these measures in place.

To make this possible, each party prepared its own commitments in advance. Other key points also
needed to be clarified at COP 21, including the following:

 - The establishment of a system for monitoring and controlling the results of each party's
 greenhouse gas emissions;

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- The possibility of involving other actors in addition to the United Nations in this fight, for
 example local and regional authorities and the private sector;
 - The amount, duration and modalities of financial assistance from the most developed
 countries to the least developed countries and those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate
 change;
 - The modification of the world energy mix to see the share of renewable energies increase and
 that of fossil fuels decrease.

A total of 196 parties (195 signatory countries and the European Union, all of which have ratified the
UNFCCC) and 2 observer countries were present at COP 21 in Paris to negotiate this new global
agreement, and 147 world leaders travelled to attend. In addition, 1109 NGOs were present as
observers and 1366 media covered the event. Only Syria, then in civil war, was unable to ratify the
agreement.

This COP also led to other agreements to help developing countries in particular:

 - 1 trillion dollars will be used to fight the effects of global warming and invest in clean energy,
 especially solar and wind power.
 - Developed countries will provide $100 billion annually to developing countries from 2020 to
 help them in their transition. This amount is a floor that will be increased thereafter. (3)

Participants are given a great deal of freedom on how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but
are required to be transparent in monitoring the efforts that are being made. The parties will be
obliged to report on their progress in greenhouse gas emissions every 5 years and give their
commitments for the following period. The agreement will not be fully legally binding. While signatory
countries are obliged to report on their progress, their individual targets are freely set in the form of
national commitments submitted to the United Nations;

President Donald Trump announced on 1 June 2017 the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris
Agreement. This is a serious blow to global ambitions against global warming. The explanation given
by the US President is that the measures foreseen in the text would be harmful to the country's
economy; he also expressed his readiness to re-enter the negotiation process if a more favourable
agreement for the US is proposed. Although it is still too early to judge the success of the Paris
agreements, it is clear that for the first time an agreement has been signed by (almost) all countries.
There is still a long way to go, but it does allow for more concrete progress to be made in the various
national ecological transitions.

Indeed, thanks to the Paris agreements and with the law on energy transition, France has set itself two
main objectives:

 - 40% reduction in its emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
 - 75% reduction in its emissions by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.

To do so, it has committed itself to the evolution of the energy mix:

 - Increasing the share of renewable energies in final energy consumption to 32% in 2030;
 - Reduce energy consumption by 50% by 2050. (4)

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c) The Energy Pluriannual Program (EPP)

The Pluriannual Energy Program was updated during 2015 and 2016 to set renewable energy targets
for 2018 and 2023. It sets a trajectory for the energy mix, as well as "priorities for action for the
management of all forms of energy on the continental metropolitan territory, in order to achieve the
national objectives set by the law on energy transition.

Nevertheless, in order to best achieve the national objectives of the EPP. Local and regional authorities
are a key actor in the local implementation of the energy transition. Indeed, they have taken up the
issue, sometimes in an ambitious way. The regions must draw up Regional Schemes for Town and
Country Planning, Sustainable Development and Territorial Equality (SRADDET) setting out the main
guidelines for reducing energy consumption and preventing greenhouse gas emissions. Based on an
inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and chemical pollutants, as well as on an assessment of energy
production at regional level, these plans must set out guidelines for 2020 and 2050 to curb climate
change, mitigate and adapt to its effects, reduce atmospheric pollution and set targets to be achieved
in order to develop the potential for renewable energies. (7)

Each SRADDET contains a wind energy component, the Regional Wind Energy Plan (SRE), which
precisely defines the objectives to be achieved at the regional level according to known environmental,
landscape and technical constraints. A cartography of the zones favourable to wind development is
thus carried out, and gives a framework for the development of wind farms, although these RREs have
no legal value. Measures have been taken to facilitate wind development. The so-called "five-mast"
law was repealed in April 2013. This law was intended to avoid wind sprawl by allowing only wind
farms with at least 5 wind turbines. Wind development zones (ZDE) were also abolished. Introduced
by the law of 13 July 2005, the ZDEs, created on the initiative of the local authorities, were priority
areas for developing parks, thanks to the obligation to purchase the electricity produced by the wind
turbines. The obligation to purchase was only possible within these zones, outside there were none.
The space delimitation was based on the criteria of electrical connection potential, landscape
integration and wind potential. Finally, the introduction of a single building permit in the spring of 2014
made it possible to lighten the administrative procedures. This dossier includes the building permit
and the ICPE dossier, saving time in the preparation and processing of these dossiers. (4)

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III) Wind power in France and the Great West

 a) French energy mix

Most of the electricity produced in France is generated by nuclear power. This can be explained by the
massive development of this means of production in the 20th century. And although the French energy
policy is to reduce the share of nuclear power in the French energy mix. The statistics for the year 2019
provided by the FEE (France Energy Wind Power) show us the still majority share of nuclear power.

 Figure 3 : The French Energy mix in 2019, FEE

France has set itself a target of carbon neutrality by 2050. The EPP published in April 2016 sets the
country's energy transition objectives until 2028. The text foresees that wind energy capacity should
increase by 45% within 3 years. However, with only 1,337 MW connected in 2019, the installed wind
power capacity must accelerate. France aims, over the next decade, at a rate of installation of onshore
wind power capacity of 2,000 MW per year in order to reach the target of 34 GW of cumulative capacity
connected in 2028. Offshore wind power capacity must also grow at a sustained rate. To meet the EPP
targets, nearly 1,000 MW of capacity needs to be allocated through tenders each year by 2024 until
2028. (7)

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Figure 4 : Objectives in terms of installed capacity as determined by the PPE, FEE

 Wind turbine capacities are spread throughout France, with more than 1,450 wind farms with 8,436
 wind turbines, located in all metropolitan regions as well as in overseas France. At 31 December 2019,
 French wind power had an installed capacity of 16.6 GW. The Hauts-de-France and Grand Est regions
 are the leading wind power regions. These 2 regions alone account for 50% of the power connected in
 France. Occitania in the South of France, the historical cradle of wind power in France, is in 3rd position
 nationally. It covers on average 7.2% of French electricity consumption, an increase of 1.3% compared
 to 2018. This rate rises to 10.8% in the first quarter of 2020. For example, on 29 March 2020, renewable
 energies contributed up to 39% of the French electricity mix, of which 24% came from wind power
 alone. The French wind farm then produced 12.8 GW of electricity. (8)

Figure 6: French electrical consumption coverage in 2019, FEE Figure 5 : Wind Power in France after 31 march 2020, FEE

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In the West (Brittany, Pays-de-la-Loire, New Aquitaine), the installed capacity has exceeded 1 GW since
the middle of 2020, proof of the harmonious development of the sector throughout the territory.

 b) Great West

This thesis tries to answer the problem of the implantation of wind turbines in the West of France. The
next developments will mainly focus on two regions of France: Brittany and Pays-de-la-Loire.

As seen previously, these two regions exceeded the GW of installed capacity in 2020. Nevertheless,
these figures are far from the objectives set out in the EPP. Many factors explain this delay in almost
all regions; some of these factors will be explained later in this thesis.

The fact remains that at the end of 2019 we had only 1047 MW of connected power for 1939 GWh of
energy produced in Brittany, which is half less than the SRADDET objectives for 2020, which were 2004
MW for the region. (7)

 Figure 7: Wind power and electricity production in Pays-de-la-Loire, FEE

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IV) Prospecting

 a) Thesis method

The perspective of this thesis is to determine under which conditions, the implementation of a wind
farm in the West of France is conceivable. The objective is to investigate all the technical and legal
constraints that impact the wind farm, to minimize the costs of the electrical connection to the already
existing network, as well as to carry out an economic study to determine whether the site is profitable
for the producer.

For confidentiality reasons, we will rely on a project already carried out by Valeco. Nevertheless, the
study would remain valid for any search for a potential site that could accommodate a wind farm. So I
decided to back up my remarks with a study of a project under development at Valeco. It is a project
in the town of Séglien in Morbihan (56) in Brittany. The commune of Séglien is a rural commune of
38.36 km², which makes it a fairly large commune. Its territory is hilly and lies between 123 meters and
248 meters. It is crossed by the Saar river, a tributary of the Blavet. Since 2006, the commune has
already had a wind farm with 6 wind turbines of 9 MW. It is part of the Pontivy-Community
intermunicipality. In 2017 it had 669 inhabitants.

 Figure 8 : Location of Séglien

To achieve the objective defined above, I used Excel and Matlab softwares to estimate the profitability
of the wind farm, as well as Arcgis software to share and exploit the different geographical layers useful
for my analysis. First of all I carried out a bibliographical research to understand the global, European
and French policies regarding the energy transition. I also researched the European electricity market
and the integration of renewable energies into the existing grid. I then carried out my study in the
following way:

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1) First of all, I looked for a potential site by looking at the most restrictive criterion there is: the
 minimum distance to the nearest dwellings.
 2) Then, the different criteria (environmental, aeronautical, heritage and urban planning) were
 studied.
 3) As soon as a site is identified as a potential site, a preliminary economic study is carried out to
 determine whether or not money is injected for the various studies to be carried out
 afterwards (wind deposit study, acoustic study, environmental study, landscape study, etc.).
 4) Special attention was paid to the electrical connection of the wind farm to the existing
 electricity grid to assess the feasibility of the project.

If one of these tasks is not validated, the project cannot be valid and the search for a new site must be
started again. However, if all the necessary authorisations are obtained for the project to be carried
out, then the project can be approved. These different tasks will be explained in detail in the rest of
this thesis.

First of all, when prospecting in order to find a Potential Planting Zone (after referred to as a ZIP), it is
important to take into account and comply with certain legislative and technical constraints. They can
have strong impacts that can constrain the size of the wind turbines, but also make the project
unfeasible. These constraints will be grouped by categories and will be explained afterwards: we will
first study the urban planning constraints, then the aeronautical constraints, but also the
environmental constraints and finally the heritage constraints.

 b) Local context

The first constraints to be observed when looking for ZIPs are urban planning constraints, and more
particularly the distance to dwellings. Indeed since the Grenelle II law on the environment in 2010,
wind turbines under the ICPE must be located at a minimum distance of 500 m from homes in France.
A dwelling is considered to be a construction connected to drinking water, with some particularities :

 - a separate room for the toilet (bathroom with shower and washbasin) and a toilet inside
 the accommodation
 - a space designed to accommodate cooking appliances
 - a mailbox.

France is a very rural country, with just under 35 000 communes. This is why dwellings are very
scattered, and therefore make it difficult to set up large wind farms. It is estimated that 65 % of the
surface area is covered by this constraint of minimum distance to dwellings. This is also one of the
reasons that led the government to repeal the 5-mast rule. Indeed, as the large ZIPs were now
identified, it was complicated, if not impossible, to create new parks with more than 5 machines. As
the technology became more and more mature, it became possible to create profitable wind farms
with two or more machines.

Next, the local urban development plans (PLU) or local inter-municipal urban development plans (PLUi)
must be taken into account to find out the special status of the plots in the municipality. The PLU and
PLUi are spatial planning projects. Since the Grenelle II Environment Act, these have included a
Sustainable Development and Planning Project (PADD) which continues to comply with urban
planning, housing and urban transport policies. It is the communes in consultation with the community

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of communes that define whether or not the land is suitable for the installation of wind turbines
through the PLU or PLUi. (5)

Roads (departmental, national or motorways) are also to be taken into account. In addition to the fact
that they will allow the different components of the wind turbine to be transported (blades, hub, mast
etc.), they impose a distance from the road of at least one mast height to install the wind turbine. This
is mainly for safety reasons, in case of a fall of the wind turbine in order not to create other accidents
on the road. It is therefore necessary to find a compromise between being close to major roads to limit
the cost of transporting the wind turbine, but not being too close to avoid the risk of road accidents.
Likewise, wind turbines must be at a level with major railways and overhead power lines to avoid
accidents.

Similarly, radio consultations must be carried out if the ZIP cuts off the radio transmission links. The
reflection and diffraction of electromagnetic waves on the blades of wind turbines can generate a
disturbance of hertzian waves (radio, television, mobile phone relay antennas, etc.). The studies prior
to the installation of wind farms take into account all the radioelectric easements, by consulting the
organisations concerned (ANFR, Télédiffusion de France). In most cases, a modification of the location
of wind turbines makes it possible to avoid disturbances. If the alternative implantation is difficult to
implement, the wind turbine developer will have to install a re-transmitter or an alternative mode of
television reception, such as satellite.

Finally, consultations with the drinking water catchment management department and the gas
pipeline manager must be carried out if the ZIP is located close to these sensitive areas. Indeed, during
the construction of the park can frequently encounter the underlying water table and lead to water
pollution by the sludge and hydrocarbons used. Technical problems related to the operation of
renewable energy sources also pose risks to water resources. With the use of large volumes of oil, the
operation of wind turbines is also exposed when the nacelle does not perform well as a retention tank.
(9) The following map summarizes all the constraints on the community of communes of Séglien:

 Figure 9 : Local context at Séglien, Valeco

It can be noted from now on that depending on the location of the wind turbines, the town of Silfiac
in the North could be concerned by the project. Indeed the ZIP is straddling the two communes. But if

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all the wind turbines are on the commune of Séglien, then all the economic spin-offs at the communal
level would return to Séglien.

Moreover, there are no constraints with regard to departmental roads, power lines or water
catchment areas. This zone is about 3000 m long, and seems to be correctly oriented as we will see in
more detail later on.

 c) Windy Region

It is obvious that for a wind farm to be profitable there must be enough wind. In fact, the available
power can be calculated by the following formula :
 1
 = 3 (eq. 1)
 2

Where :

 - P is the maximum power available
 - is the air density
 - is the area swept by the blades
 - is the wind speed at hub height

This power is therefore a function of the cube of the wind speed. So multiplying the wind speed by 2
means that you get 8 times more power! Of course all this power is not recoverable. Indeed the
German Albert Betz established in 1919 that the maximum theoretical power developed by a wind
sensor is equal to 16/27 of the incident power of the wind which crosses the wind turbine. (10)

In this thesis the air density is considered constant equal to 1.19 kg/ M 3 . This is not always true. First,
at higher temperatures, gas molecules further accelerate. As a result, they push harder against their
surroundings, expanding the volume of the gas. And the higher the volume with the same number of
particles, the lower the density is. Therefore, air's density decreases as the air is heated. Moreover, we
could understand why altitude has a significant influence on air density. Because as you go higher, the
greater the pressure drops. The air is less compressed, so it extends and therefore the volume
increases (and the density decreases). Then, if the humidity increase, for a same volume, temperature
and pressure, water vapor molecules have to replace nitrogen, oxygen or argon, the three main dry air
molecules. Because molecules of H₂O are lighter than the other, the total mass of the gas decreases,
decreasing the density of the air too.

Similarly, the higher the hub of the wind turbine, the higher the speed increases according to the
following formula:
 
 ℎ 
 ℎ = ∗ ( ) ( . 2)
 
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Figure 10: Wind speed extrapolation

So for a given blade tip height, a compromise must be made between the hub height and the diameter
of the wind turbine blades. The higher the hub will be and the smaller the blades will be. The lower
the hub will be, the bigger the blades will be. This ratio between hub height and blade diameter must
not be disproportionate to preserve the aesthetics of the wind turbine in order to be socially
acceptable.

Still, in metropolitan France, thanks to a long and windy coastline, the wind potential is there and very
present.

 Figure 11: Mean wind speed in France, MétéoFrance

When we start a project or when we don't have a lot of wind data on the site under consideration, we
can use software to simulate the wind deposit on the site. This software provides us with a lot of data
that can give us a first idea of the wind potential. To do this I used AWS software which was able to
give me the wind rose allowing us to know the wind direction and its frequency, the Weibbull
coefficients k and A allowing us to model the wind distribution on the site. (10)

 −1 
 −( )
 ( ) = ∗( ) ∗ ( . 3)
 
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In this case I found A = 7.89 and k =2.415

Then I could plot the Weibull distribution at Séglien.

 Figure 12: Weibull distribution at Séglien

This is one of the major criteria to be taken into account when seeking to install wind turbines. Of
course a thorough study with a measuring mast is mandatory to refine our production and obtain a
viable model on the long term. Often a wind study takes at least one year to obtain data for a full year.
Then we can extrapolate these data to obtain a consistent distribution over the life of the project.
However, the wind distribution is only a minor constraint when seeking to install wind turbines in the
West of France. Indeed, as we can see on the map, the wind deposit is large enough and is therefore
not an obstacle to the profitability of the site.

 d) Aerial easements

France, like other European countries, is constantly overflown by airliners, private planes, military
planes, helicopters, microlights etc. In order to avoid any accidents, the French aviation sector is
governed by strict regulations. It is therefore necessary to consult the various organisations that
govern the air code to find out the provisions for the installation of wind turbines. This report presents
the main aviation constraints that can be identified in France, and more particularly in the West, at the
end of 2020. These aviation constraints are regularly redefined in consultation with the various
organizations concerned.

ARMY :
In example, though the military represents 10% of air traffic, military flight paths prevent the
installation of wind turbines on almost 50% of the territory. It is therefore challenging to install wind
turbines over a large part of the country, and even more so when more than 150 meters high.

RTBA :
These sectors, of which there are six spread across the country, are intended to allow military air
activities at heights below 150m/CSA. They enable aircraft to fly very close to the ground at very high
speed to become accustomed to very low altitude flight, maintain specific know-how and develop
particular tactics. Air-to-ground combat training missions are also carried out there. Thus, in view of
training requirements, the constraints of armies lead to the adoption of a case-by-case study. Defence
does not issue any restrictions when these projects are located in an area already impacted by wind
turbines without increasing the existing disturbance.

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