February 11 (Renewables Now) - France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced ambitious mid-century renewable energy objectives while also committing to a “rebirth” of the country’s nuclear energy industry.

In a speech during his visit at a nuclear turbine factory in Belfort, eastern France, Macron stated that France will seek to have 40 GW of offshore wind power generation capacity by 2050 and more than 100 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) parks.

The 37-GW onshore wind goal, however, will be delayed until 2050 from 2030 because of acceptance issues.

At the same time, the President announced a different course when it comes to nuclear energy. Instead of reducing its dependence on nuclear power plants, as Macron had previously proposed, he now announced plans for as many as 14 new reactors to be built by state-controlled utility Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF), better known as EDF. The new units would represent 25 GW of additional capacity.

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