00:00We believe at ENGY that electrification is a very strong lever for this energy transition but there are usages that can't be electrified.
00:10Heavy industries which require a very high temperature, heavy transportation and their molecules are very important.
00:18Liquid fuels or gas and we think at ENGY that it's very important to develop green options for these fuels.
00:27We are very active in green gases, biogas, hydrogen and we support this pledge and I will share within this group of head of state the fact that there are companies who believe that indeed the fact that COP focuses now not just on electrification but also on sustainable fuel is indeed a great move forward.
00:50Let me ask you, I want to follow up on that, but let me ask you about something a little bit closer to home in France.
00:56I'm curious how the French political crisis and kind of the uncertainty about the budget, how is that impacting renewables and how is that impacting ENGY's decisions?
01:06I don't see any direct impact for ENGY but you might know that in France we've been trying, just as an example, we've been trying to develop a framework for the energy transition.
01:16We call it PPE, I won't go into the detail, but this has been stopped for the last two years.
01:21The government was not able to issue this new energy framework for quite some time now due to the very complex political situation.
01:29It's not good. I think like any industries, we want to have clear directions, we want to have certainty on how things will develop.
01:39And it's so that in France there is a level of uncertainty and even volatility which is not good.
01:46I hope that things will settle at the end of the parliamentary discussion on the 2026 budget.
01:53But the current situation, again, is a bit unstable, to say things nicely.
01:58An unstable environment, like you said, it doesn't breed certainty for decision making.
02:02But at this point, is it stopping any projects? Are you holding off on any decisions?
02:07At this point of time, no, because we have a number of projects that we are developing currently in France, offshore wind, onshore, solar,
02:13and we are continuing to develop this project. I think the question is more on the new project which could be developed.
02:18Offshore wind is a very good example. We were expecting the government to give some visibility on how they will increase significantly.
02:27It was the current expectation, the development of an offshore wind project, and today it is a bit uncertain.
02:34Absolutely. Well, let me ask you about the offshore wind project in the U.S., Oceanwinds.
02:39A U.S. federal court just ruled, obviously, that the Trump administration has the authority to pull back that permit.
02:46Are you going to appeal? What's...
02:48We are not a direct party to the decision which was announced just a couple of days ago.
02:56So I think currently we are trying to review our options.
02:59To be frank, we are not expecting to develop this project at this point of time, but it's a permit that we have.
03:06It means some rights that we have to develop some offshore wind activities there.
03:12So we are reviewing our options and see if there is an opportunity or a need for ocean wind to react to this court decision.
03:20And so what I'm hearing is that you... I mean, these are long term permits. Can you afford to wait for maybe a policy certainty four years from now?
03:31Is it a good thing to wait? No, but it might be the reality.
03:34We are not in a situation like some of our competitors, where projects have started, where billions of dollars have been invested.
03:41We are just at the beginning of this development, so it offers opportunities for us to be a little bit more patient.
03:48But overall, not good for the US energy picture because what we see in the US is customers, mostly the big digital companies asking for supply of green energy for the next decade.
04:03Decades, in fact, due to the development of AI data center.
04:07And today, it's much more difficult for suppliers like us to prepare a project which could secure the supply of this energy for the next for the next years.
04:18But again, we are reviewing our options. We are trying to understand what's going on.
04:21And if we see opportunities to continue our investment, we will do so.
04:26If we see that there's too much risk, obviously, we will adjust accordingly.
04:31We see a lot of uncertainties. We see decisions being taken very quickly and not always in the same direction.
04:39So it's really a challenge for investors to understand how we can develop a project in these circumstances.
04:45Renewable energy projects tend to be low profitability projects.
04:49So we need very clear visibility to be able to make sure that we will have the payback that we expect.
04:56So it's really a type of industry where you need visibility and predictability.
05:00And today, it's not what we see in the current US political situation environment.
05:08Well, for your company, as you look across the landscape of opportunities, you know, you've got Morocco, you've got projects in Belgium, you have obviously work in France.
05:16How does the US rank in terms of a place you want to put capital today, given that certainty?
05:21I think a year ago, the answer would have been very easy.
05:23Yes, we want to we want to invest in the US.
05:25We were one of the largest developers of renewable in the US.
05:28Today, we are slowing down. We are continuing with the project that I've started, but we are reviewing our situation.
05:34And once again, we need to be very prudent and assess the risk.
05:39And we see other opportunities in countries like India, for example, which are on the contrary,
05:45focusing on quick development on renewable projects, trying to reduce risk for foreign investors like us.
05:53There are opportunities in the Gulf region, in the UAE or Saudi Arabia that we are also looking for.
06:00But again, if we were to see opportunities to invest in the US, we would continue to do so because it's a large market.
06:07Digital and AI are creating a lot of opportunities as it relates to green energy, need for green energy or low carbon energy.
06:16And but again, we are assessing the risk.
06:21And it's very difficult for companies to invest when you don't see what's the framework in which or the environment in which your project will develop.
06:31To get started.
06:35For more people, give the interest of the organization.
06:37We'll be there for the separator.
06:40We'll be there for more people in the US, right?
06:41What if you want to do?
06:43We'll be there for the mediator.
06:46But we're we'll be at the next level.
06:48We'll be there for the next level.
06:51We'll be there for the Maria.
06:54We'll be there for that.
06:56We'll be there for the chapter 2 and the next level.
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