Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are innovative contractual instruments that enable the purchase of renewable energy at competitive prices. They offer economic and planning advantages for both private enterprises and public administrators, which could use them to encourage the creation of renewable energy communities. However, PPAs entail risks related to price fluctuations and the variability of energy production from renewable sources. The integration of guarantee mechanisms and regulatory revisions could expand their use, promoting a more sustainable energy system.

The paper, starting from the exam of the environmental damage and its economic relevance according to damaged environmental functions, aims to analyze the subcategory of ecological prejudice as it is governed within the French legislation. The ecological prejudice, which could be subjective if it concerns the human being – both as an individual and as community – or objective if it damages nature, raises relevant questions about how damage could be repaired. Moving from the “Erika” case, in which for the first time the existence of “pure ecological prejudice” has been recognized, the paper analyses the regulatory developments of ecological prejudice from the transposition of the Directive 2004/35 into French legislation until the Law of 2016 on the reconquest of biodiversity. Finally, with brief references regarding the solutions adopted in other national legislations, it is outlined, trying to stress out the most controversial aspects, the three forms of redress introduced by the 2016 Law: primary, complementary and compensatory.