Well, and Shell is big in the wind business and BP in photovoltaics. Part of it is co-optation, part of it is to have a share if the business exists anyway (especially abroad), part of it is that EdF and Areva enjoy a secure near-monopolistic situation - and part of it is that on the French wind energy market, there is little fear of upstarts and local projects becoming dominant.

(BTW, Jérôme, how high is the French wind potential estimated presently? IIRC it is more than 100% of current consumption, but I must have read that about five years ago.)

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

Similarly in the US, in 1999 then governor G.W. Bush signed into law a requirement that Texas have 2 GW of renewable generation in place by 2009. I'm pretty sure Texas is now the #2 wind producing state in the US behind California. Since you're on theoildrum often, do you know if anyone there has talked about how that came about politically? 2 GW isn't much so it doesn't have to have unique reasoning behind it, but I thought their might be more to it.

you are the media you consume.