The Court of Auditors considers the support granted to the Gardanne biomass power plant to be disproportionate

In a report on the closure of coal-fired power stations in France (Le Havre and Cordemais, operated by EDF, Saint-Avold and Gardanne, operated by GazelEnergie), the Court of Auditors notes the lack of profitability of coal-fired power station conversion projects. The Court highlights the very high feed-in tariff for electricity produced by the Gardanne plant (€260/MWh). It points out that the support granted to a biomass power plant is contrary to the PPE and unjustified given the existing overcapacity on the French electricity market. The Court also considers that the power plant, which uses 35% of the available forest resources within a 250-kilometre radius, destabilises the local market and forces GazelEnergie to purchase biomass from other regions or even from abroad.