Finding Weak Signals in the Energy Market
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A weak signal is an emerging trend or an indicator of a future change, signaling an opportunity or a threat. Observing weak signals allows for anticipating events, which is a critical element of monitoring and decision-making. Recognizing the weak signals in your environment can enable you to position yourself ahead of a future business opportunity or to define a strategy.
What are the Weak Signals of a Call for Tenders ?
Before the official publication of a call for tenders or right at the beginning of a project (useful if you are a subcontractor), several data points can serve as preliminary indicators.
MRAE Opinions (Regional Environmental Authority Missions):
Thisdocument assesses the quality of environmental evaluation approaches, evaluates the impacts of a project on the environment, and ensures it complies with environmental regulations before it can be approved. This opinion is given for schemes, plans, projects, and programs.
Thus, any "work involving construction, installations, or other interventions in the natural environment or landscape, including those aimed at exploiting soil resources" (Article L.122-1 of the Environmental Code), which is subject to an environmental assessment, is necessarily subject to an MRAE opinion.
The opinion is primarily aimed at informing the public and stakeholders.
Schemes, plans, and programs are planning or programming documents that apply to a specific territory (State, region, department, agglomeration, community of municipalities, commune...). These include urban mobility plans, quarry plans, territorial coherence schemes, and local urban plans. They define upcoming infrastructures, and knowing that an MRAE opinion has been issued allows for early anticipation of a future project opportunity.
The environmental authority may also intervene at the request of the project leader, offering a "preliminary scoping" early on (after public debate or during the preliminary design stage).
The environmental assessment should be carried out as early as possible, particularly in cases where multiple authorizations or decisions are involved, starting from the first authorization or decision, covering the entirety of the project and its impacts.
Where to find information ? Visit the websites of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE.fr), the Energy Mediation (energie-mediateur.fr), official bulletins, and specialized publications.
Wind farm project at Villers-le-Château (51)
Two floating photovoltaic power plants at Bray-Saint-Aignan (45)
Official Orders:
These are official decisions made by an administrative authority (State or local governments). They can impose specific rules on the location of projects, environmental standards, and construction conditions. For example, a prefectural decree authorizing the installation of a wind farm may specify minimum distances to be maintained from residences or measures to protect wildlife. Another decree might prohibit the construction of energy infrastructures in a protected natural area to preserve the local ecosystem.
Monitoring prefectural or municipal orders in your area allows you to anticipate all the development projects of local governments from their earliest stages, thus detecting business opportunities early on.
Where to find information ? Official journals, collections of administrative acts, municipal bulletins, or public notice boards, and government websites.*
Public Inquiries:
These inform citizens and allow them to express their opinions on a company's or local government's project that may impact private property, the population, and the environment. Public inquiries take place before the launch of calls for tenders, between the development of the project and its official start.
In general, when municipalities undertake developments, constructions, or works that may affect the environment due to their nature, these operations are subject to public inquiry.
In the case of Renewable Energy Acceleration Zones (ZAEnR), municipalities are responsible for organizing a public consultation, which is an excellent source of information and gives citizens the opportunity to express their views and, ultimately, accept the project. This consultation should ideally be initiated in the early phases of the process.
Where to find information ? Prefecture and local government websites, official journals, municipal bulletins, specialized sites (e.g., participer.gouv.fr).
Public inquiry into the ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant in the commune of Salles-la-Source
Administrative Collections:
These gather decisions from state services. They enable businesses to understand local regulations and trends to comply with or anticipate them (urban planning, environment, construction permits, protected areas, etc.). This can be crucial for determining where and how to set up infrastructures such as wind or solar farms. Meetings also help track deliberations and decisions by municipal or regional councils that may affect project development (funding, zoning, etc.).
Where to find information ? Prefecture websites, local government websites, official journals, and administrative documentation services.
Regional Administrative Acts Collections - August 2024
Regional Schemes:
Documents like the Regional Climate, Air, and Energy Plans (SRCAE) define priorities and favorable areas for renewable energy development in each region. These documents are essential for guiding project strategies, identifying suitable areas, and aligning projects with regional goals, thereby maximizing success in calls for tenders.
Where to find information ? Regional and regional authority websites (Réseau des DREAL and regions-france.org), prefecture websites, urban planning and development services, libraries, and documentation centers.
Grid connection scheme for renewable energy in French Guiana
Renewable Energy Acceleration Zones (ZAER):
These zones were introduced following the adoption of the APER law aimed at accelerating renewable energy production. They serve as a true tool for territorial planning, and over 320,000 zones currently exist. Municipalities are required to propose zones for renewable energy production, mainly photovoltaic, but also wind, geothermal, biogas, solar thermal, or hydroelectric power, and they may define zones to exclude. Once approved by the municipal council, these zones will host future projects that may be subject to calls for tenders.
Municipalities are not required to precisely define the renewable energy installations (as they are not experts), but they must designate the best locations for potential renewable energy installations based on the territory’s potential and the existing capacity. For example, a ZAEnR may concern any type of building or parcel equipped or not with renewable energy.
Where to find information? Ministry of Ecological Transition website, prefecture or local government websites, administrative collections, official publications.
Opinions of natural area managers in Saône-et-Loire
Calls for Expressions of Interest (CEI):
These take place before a call for tenders. This preliminary and unofficial process allows public procurement actors to probe the market and identify interested stakeholders who can provide input, helping to define a precise specification for a future call for tenders. CEIs allow businesses to position themselves early for future business opportunities. Unlike calls for tenders or project calls, an CEI is a flexible preselection process where a candidate does not necessarily commit to participating in a subsequent public contract. Read the full article on CEI.
Where to find information ? Public procurement platform (marches-publics.gouv.fr), BOAMP (BOAMP.fr), ministry and public agency websites, regional and local government websites (regions-france.org), and specialized platforms.
Weak signals are crucial for anticipating opportunities and threats in the renewable energy sector. By monitoring these signals, you can effectively position yourself for future business opportunities or prepare strategies to counter risks.
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