Why this matters in France
France gets most of its electricity from nuclear power, roughly 70 percent. The rest comes from a mix of renewables, gas, and coal. The grid is low-carbon compared to many European countries, but it’s not renewable-led. Wind and solar are growing fast, but they still make up a smaller share of France’s electricity than in countries like Germany or Spain.
That growth depends on investment. When Plugsurfing buys Guarantees of Origin from French wind farms, that money goes directly to the producers. It’s direct financial support for certified renewable energy.
Certificates add a revenue stream on top of electricity sales. They strengthen the business case for existing projects and make it easier to justify building new ones. In a market where renewables are still scaling, that investment signal matters.
What you’ll see in the app
We’ve made your contribution visible. During the campaign, you’ll see a green banner in the Plugsurfing app. After each charging session in France, a post-session screen gives you more context about the campaign and how your charging connects to renewable energy.
Meet Moulin du Bois
Your certificates come from a pool of French wind farms. One of them is Moulin du Bois, located in Saint-Cyr-les-Colons in Burgundy, along the A6 motorway.
The farm
Moulin du Bois is operated by ERG, an energy company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange and one of the leading wind energy operators in Europe. The farm has nine Vestas V117 turbines with a total installed capacity of 32.4 MW, producing an estimated 70 GWh per year. That’s roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of 11,000 households.
The farm was commissioned in 2024 and went through environmental impact assessments covering fauna, flora, acoustics, and landscape before construction.
How Guarantees of Origin work
Why they exist
Renewable energy projects sell electricity on the open market. But the electricity market is volatile. When conditions are good for production, supply floods the market and prices can drop sharply. Selling electricity alone doesn’t always bring in enough revenue to sustain investment.
Guarantees of Origin were created as a way to financially support renewable energy production on top of electricity sales. They give businesses a way to back specific renewable projects with real money, and they give renewable producers an additional, more stable source of income.
How they work
When a renewable energy project produces electricity and feeds it into the grid, it can apply for a certificate for every megawatt-hour produced. A government-appointed issuing body checks the application and grants the certificate. Each one records what was produced, where, when, and from what energy source. Think of it as an official receipt for renewable electricity.
The certificate and the electricity are separate. The electricity goes into the grid and mixes with everything else. The certificate can be sold to a buyer who wants to back that specific production. Once a buyer uses a certificate, it’s cancelled so no one else can claim the same energy.
What Plugsurfing does with them
Certificates are a business-to-business market mechanism. Individual drivers don’t buy them. Companies in the supply chain do.
For every kilowatt-hour you charge in France, Plugsurfing buys a matching certificate from a French wind farm through our partner Becour. That purchase sends money directly to the producer. You don’t need to do anything differently. You charge, we buy the certificate, the wind farm gets paid.
More info on Guarantees of Origin
From the UK to France
This is our second renewable energy pilot. In 2025, we ran a similar campaign in the UK, matching every British charging session with Energy Attribute Certificates from offshore wind.
France is a natural next step. The energy mix is different from the UK or the Nordics: nuclear-heavy, with renewables growing but not yet dominant. If certificate-backed charging resonates with drivers here, it validates the model for markets where the grid isn’t already green.
About our renewable energy partner
Plugsurfing has partnered with Becour to match your charging with renewable energy certificates. Becour works directly with renewable energy producers to buy Guarantees of Origin and Energy Attribute Certificates that prove renewable electricity was produced and fed into the grid. For every kilowatt-hour you charge, Becour buys a matching certificate on our behalf from a French wind farm, so there’s a clear record that your charging is matched with wind energy.
Get started
Open your Plugsurfing app, find a charger near you, and plug in. Your next charge in France will be backed by Guarantees of Origin from certified renewable energy.
FAQ
1. How long does the campaign run?
From 14 April to 14 July. Every charging session you make in France during this period is matched 1:1 with Guarantees of Origin from French wind farms.
2. Do I need to do anything to take part?
No extra steps needed. Just charge as usual with your Plugsurfing app or charging card. We handle the matching automatically.
3. Does this change how much I pay for charging?
No. There’s no change to pricing. The renewable energy matching is included automatically for all sessions in France during the campaign period.
4. Can I see my impact?
Yes. During the campaign, you’ll see a green banner in the app. After each session, a post-session screen gives you more context about the campaign and your charging.
5. Is this the first time Plugsurfing has done this?
No. We ran a similar pilot in the UK in 2025, matching charging sessions with Energy Attribute Certificates from British offshore wind. France is our second market.
6. Why France?
France gets most of its electricity from nuclear power, with renewables growing but still a smaller part of the mix. Backing renewable energy projects here helps accelerate that growth. It also lets us test whether drivers value certificate-backed charging in a market with a very different energy profile from the UK.
