Electricity: lack of nuclear power, France will operate coal this winter

Maud Descamps edited by Ugo Pascolo 19:16, January 06, 2022

When coal comes to the aid of nuclear power to produce electricity in France.

Three months after Emmanuel Macron's presentation of his France 2030 plan, which gives pride of place to nuclear power, France is forced to place greater demands on its coal-fired power stations to produce electricity.

A situation which is partly explained by the numerous nuclear reactors shut down in the region.

More precisely, 10 out of 56 are not operational, either for maintenance issues or for technical concerns.

Result: there is less electricity produced in France.

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The CO2 emissions cap raised

The Ministry of Ecological Transition has therefore decided to raise the CO2 emissions ceiling of its two coal-fired power stations in order to be able to use them more to get through the months of January and February. A decision taken against the will, they say in the entourage of Minister Barbara Pompili, "but it is the security of the electricity supply that remains the priority".

The fact remains that this relaxation does not call into question the timetable for the closure of these last two coal-fired power stations.

That of Saint-Avold will notably close its doors in 2022. A closure that opens the question of electricity supply next winter, since the delay caused by Covid-19 in the maintenance of EDF power plants will not be still absorbed.

Everything will therefore depend on the availability of other means of production such as offshore wind power, a sector where there too, delays are accumulating.