Energy transition: in France, the political debate often misses the point
Wind turbines near Livermore, California (illustrative image).
© AP - Noah Berger
Text by: Léopold Picot Follow
7 mins
As the presidential election approaches, politicians take hold of the debate on electricity production, opposing wind power and nuclear power, often forgetting to take into account the energy transition as a whole, from production to end uses, including by the vectors of these energies.
To the despair of the experts, who call for a little height.
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Every day in France, 265 people die prematurely from air pollution, or 100,000 per year, according to
an estimate from Harvard University
. Every year, increasingly strong climatic events
strike the European continent
, and France
is not spared
, just like the overseas territories. Global warming is a reality, so too is air pollution.
If France is, of course, a producer of rather carbon-free electricity - which does not mean without impact on the environment and human beings - it is still far from having activated all the levers at its disposal to launch a transition sustainable energy in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental protection.
Justice also
recalled it
again
at the beginning of October
, even though a
recent UN report warned
the whole world against an ever so strong dependence on fossil fuels.
Reopen the debate
However, the public debate often crystallizes on a single issue, the electricity production of France. Éric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on September 23, debated
fifteen minutes on this single subject
, although there was a quick mention of energy sobriety on the side of the leader of rebellious France. As if, in the fight against global warming, only the electrification of production could reduce GHG emissions. A situation that exasperates Alexandre Roesch, general delegate of
the Renewable Energies Union
: "
We have a debate that focuses on 25% of the overall energy subject by focusing on the electricity mix. The heat sector represents 45%, whether in the industrial or housing sector, but it is a subject that interests politicians and observers much less.
"
Electricity represents 25% of the energy consumed in France, even if this proportion is set to increase. The remaining 75% are the energies used in transport, in construction, in industry… For example, gas for high temperature heats, coal for steelworks, oil for transport. Nicolas Berghmans, researcher in climate and energy policies at the
Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations
(Iddri), finds the political debates caricature: "
There is a lack of systemic presentation on these energy issues.
Promoting a 100% wind mix, a 100% solar or 100% nuclear mix would make no sense, whether for an electricity mix, and even more so for an energy mix;
for many reasons, it is necessary to play on the complementarity of energies, one with the other.
"
Nuclear versus renewables?
On the electricity mix, which should play an increasingly important part in the energy mix, the French are witnessing a caricature of opposition between the different types of energy. However,
the six scenarios planned by the Electricity Transmission Network (RTE)
, the operator of electricity networks in France, do not plan to systematically oppose renewable energies to nuclear. A single scenario entirely excludes nuclear power in favor of renewable energies: with the recent announcements of the President of the Republic on nuclear power, its probability is reduced. On the other hand, even the most “nuclear” scenario is still 50% based on renewable energies (see infographic). "
This shows that if we stop developing the different forms of renewable energies, wind power on land, at sea, photovoltaics, we will be unable to cover electricity demand, and that we will therefore have to resort to fossil fuels,
”says Alexandre Roesch.
In fact, in 2050, nuclear power alone will not be able to supply France.
The fleet is aging: most of the 58 reactors still in operation will be shut down in the next fifteen years.
The RTE scenarios are based on data from the nuclear industry themselves, who believe they will be able to produce 14 EPRs like the one at Flamanville by 2050, and a few SMRs, these small reactors put forward by Emmanuel Macron during his conference. France 2030. Developing renewable energies is therefore an issue of energy sovereignty, as is giving nuclear the appropriate place in a rational benefit-risk calculation.
Sobriety and systemic change
In addition to the decarbonisation of production, two other levers should be of concern to politicians. Nicolas Berghmans calls for a global consideration of the transition: "
We must change the entire energy system, and not just replace thermal power stations with renewable or nuclear production methods. It means changing the way we consume, changing markets, developing interconnections when possible.
The first lever is that of energy sobriety, in order to reduce, or limit, energy demand. Creating devices that consume less electricity, developing low-consumption lighting, reducing the use of light and screens in cities and homes, insulating homes, changing modes of transport, are all subjects to debate. .. and act.
The second lever, more technical and less obvious, concerns energy vectors in end uses.
Currently, France uses fossil fuels, produced in the form of liquid, solid or gas, while many low-carbon energies produce electricity.
It will therefore be necessary to electrify uses, as is done with transport, and develop new energy vectors, such as hydrogen, for example, which will make it possible to store and supply the electricity produced upstream.
A global issue
The fact remains that by basing itself on renewable energies, even at 50% of its electricity mix, a country is exposed to the risk of being more dependent on the vagaries of the weather: sunshine, rainfall, wind speed… It is therefore necessary to produce in different places, so that one zone can take over from the other. In France, this interconnection is developing on a European scale. "
There are European funds, a European program that finances connections between different countries and we have an agenda that plans the development of these interconnections, the electricity transmission networks of European countries coordinate with each other.
», Describes Nicolas Berghmans. How to develop these interconnections could also be discussed during political debates. Who to connect with? How, with overhead, buried high-voltage lines? Who pays, over how long?
The issue of energy transition is global - it is not limited to the sole production of energy - and, according to the experts interviewed, must take into account all sectors, from source to consumption, consider the impact of each solution on nature, human beings, without being limited to the sole issue of the emission of greenhouse gases. In any case, for Nicolas Berghmans, "
what must be understood is that all energies come with their drawbacks
". As with energy, human activities, including those linked to the energy transition, will never be completely neutral, both on greenhouse gases and their environmental impacts.
►
To read also:
For Greta Thunberg, COP26 will not bring "big changes"
.
© Léopold Picot / FMM Graphic Studio
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