Norton Rose Fulbright prepares new standard aggregation contract for France Energie Eolienne

• The new France Energie Eolienne (FEE) Aggregation Contract will be published from August 1, 2017.
• The working group, with the support of Norton Rose Fulbright, learns from experiences of neighbouring countries and facilitates rapid access of wind producers to the electricity market in a standardised framework.
• The purpose of this standard aggregation contract is the purchase, by the aggregator, of the electricity delivered by the producer to the delivery point.
• This reference contract will apply to all aggregators and producers to encourage competition, while simplifying the financing process of new facilities.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has prepared the first standard aggregation contract for France Energie Eolienne in collaboration with a dedicated working group.

Through working sessions, France Energie Eolienne brought together all the stakeholders in the sector (FEE members and non-members– aggregators, lenders and producers) to map out individual comments and proposals. This contract approved by the financial stakeholders is intended to become the standard contract for the entire profession, gives all producers and aggregators who wish to use a reliable reference contract for the sale of electricity. It will primarily facilitate the financing of wind projects in addition to remuneration and encourage competition between aggregators.

The working group established by France Energie Eolienne was chaired by Dominique Darne, Managing Director of Eurowatt SA, and supported by Norton Rose Fulbright. Its aim was to draw lessons from the experience of neighbouring countries and facilitate the rapid access of wind producers, and more generally European Energy Network (EnR), to the electricity market within a standardised framework. FEE intends to play its part to facilitate the integration of its members’ production into the electricity market.

The working group observed European practices in this field and found there was a multiplicity of aggregation contract templates in the market. This has been detrimental for the sector in two respects: by limiting the liquidity of the market and the competition between the players, and by increasing the audit and negotiation costs for each project. For these reasons, it has been decided to develop a standard aggregation contract template, balanced for all parties and available to all stakeholders.

The object of this standard aggregation contract is to simplify the purchase, by the aggregator, of the electricity delivered by the producer to the delivery point. It - offers the parties - the opportunity to provide additional services such as the sale of capacity guarantees, balancing, forecasting services, registration and reporting obligations under REMIT (wholesale energy market integrity and transparency) and, in due course, the distribution of services to the network.

It was developed with the ambition of being able to apply to all aggregators and producers and to be bankable. It aims to provide producers with a reference contract for the sale of their production on the electricity market, to encourage competition between aggregators and comparison between their offers, while simplifying the financing process of new facilities.

Anne Lapierre, Head of Energy EMEA at Norton Rose Fulbright commented:

“The widespread adoption by the wind market players of the FEE standard aggregation contract must be encouraged. This standardisation effort, in addition to allowing a cost reduction for stakeholders, could, if followed, reduce the price of electricity from the wind energy sector, thereby strengthening the attractiveness of renewable energies on the market. More generally such a spot contract could be applied to all Enr.”

Click here to download the new Agregation Contrat.

For further information please contact:

Carole Guettier, Senior business development manager, Norton Rose Fulbright
Tél: + 33 (0)1 56 59 52 75
carole.guettier@nortonrosefulbright.com

Charles Billiard, Communication Executive, Norton Rose Fulbright
Tél: + 33 (0)1 56 59 52 96
charles.billiard@nortonrosefulbright.com

Notes for editors:

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have more than 4000 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through our global risk advisory group, we leverage our industry experience with our knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide our clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses.

Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices.

About France Energie Eolienne

Founded in 1996, France Energie Eolienneis the main association for the wind energy sector in France. FEE aims at promoting and developing the sector by interacting with public and private stakeholders, politics and the media. The 300 members of the FEE have installed over 90% of the wind turbines installed in France and operate more than 85% of them.

For more information, see http://fee.asso.fr/