Since 2017, EDF group has been engaged in the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which promotes the phasing out of coal in EU countries by 2030 and in the rest of the world by 2050 in the wake of the Paris Agreement. In 2020, EDF has committed to stop coal power generation by 2030 in all geographical areas.
The situation for the last remaining coal units operated by the Group is as follows: the Le Havre power plant will be shut down in spring 2021; the Cordemais power plant is planning to convert to biomass (the ECOCOMBUST project) from 2022 onwards, enabling a reduction in direct greenhouse gas emissions from the facility by a factor of 5, for operation at peak times using pellets, until 2026. The Cottam power plant (United Kingdom) closed in 2019 after 50 years of operation.
In 2019, coal-fired heat and electricity generation accounted for less than 1% of EDF group’s total output. It should be noted that between 2010 and 2018, EDF also closed all its high-power oil-fired boilers, corresponding to installed capacity of 5,200MWe.
Countries and companies will not be able to become carbon neutral without using new technology. By way of an example, EDF group has been developing skills in CO2 capture for over 10 years, becoming involved in international research projects as well as building and operating a pilot capture unit on the Le Havre site. This €22 million demonstrator (25% co-funded by French research agency ADEME) has captured 1,900 tonnes of CO2 and enabled the technical and economic feasibility of several processes to be described. EDF group also actively monitors technologies that could result in a breakthrough in this field.
In addition, EDF group is working on how to optimise the energy and environmental performance of its fossil fuel-fired fleet in order to reduce its CO2 emissions, as well as to provide more services to the electricity system as the latter is called on to incorporate an ever-higher quantity of intermittent renewable energy that cannot be managed ahead of time.
France has set itself ambitious low-carbon and energy independence goals for island territories, forming part of their PPEs (energy autonomy of French overseas territories by 2030, and Corsica by 2050). Fossil fuel-fired facilities (mainly generators) currently play a major role in these non-interconnected zones. EDF SEI and EDF PEI are fully committed to these energy transition goals, notably through the following initiatives:
Dalkia, a subsidiary of EDF group specialising in energy services, has set itself the goal of achieving 50% of renewable and recovered energy in its energy mix by 2022, and achieved a figure of 40% in 2019. This commitment has led to the development of the use of biomass (wood energy, biodegradable household refuse, and biogas), the recovery of waste heat, and geothermal energy, backed by specialist subsidiaries Dalkia Wastenergy and Dalkia Biogaz. Dalkia has also enabled its customers to make 6.7TWh worth of energy savings, thus avoiding the emission of the equivalent of 4.3 million tonnes of CO2.
In addition to CO2, the other greenhouse gases taken into account in EDF group’s emissions report are methane (CH4), nitrogen dioxide (N2O), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Other, residual greenhouse gas emissions account for approximately 1.6% of the Scope 1 total for the Group (see § 3.4 note on Methods for more details).
Wherever technologically and economically possible, EDF group uses alternative technologies to SF6. For instance, in 2019, SEI replaced two GIS substations (postes électriques sous enveloppe métallique, PSEM) containing SF6 with Modular Indoor Substations (postes intérieur modulaire, PIM), free from SF6 ; EDF Hydro has volunteered to carry out experiments on a production site with a dry air insulated vacuum circuit breaker (also free from SF6). The same type of air insulation technology has been adopted for the EPR2 project’s Energy Removal Platform. Network distribution manager Enedis has also developed a new technical series of vacuum breaker cells for primary medium and high-voltage substations, the first of which will be installed in 2020.
In 2004, EDF signed a voluntary commitment to cut SF6 emissions arising from leakage from all of its high and medium-voltage electrical equipment. These actions are monitored by the Group’s Environmental Management System (EMS). Distribution network manager Enedis has thus set itself the goal of stabilising its SF6 emissions at 330kg per year. By engaging in a proactive policy, the Nuclear Generation Division (NGD) cut its SF6 emissions by 84% between 2008 and 2017. SF6 leaks increased by 34% in 2018, leading the NGD to implement a specific action plan targeting 5 sites, designed to restore all installations to their design standard: leaks totalling no more than 1% per year.
All EDF group business lines are working to cut the carbon impact of the refrigerating fluids they use. For instance, the Dalkia Froid Solutions subsidiary uses “green” fluids (CO2 and ammonia) in over one-third of its businesses, cutting the average carbon impact of its refrigerating fluids from 2.5tCO2eq/kg in 2017 to 1.25tCO2 eq/kg in 2019.
Initiatives to improve scientific understanding of the carbon impact of dams in tropical areas are underway on the Petit Saut dam in French Guiana. Indeed, artificial reservoirs may emit greenhouse gases in the form of methane and CO2, in particular in the years after they are first filled, due to decomposition of submerged biomass (trees and humus).
To maintain its position as a leader in very low-carbon growth, the EDF group is intensifying the development of renewable energy and services while continuing its nuclear and grid investments. These investments in existing low-carbon resources and resources that allow more renewable energy to be incorporated came to almost €13.5 billion in 2019, approximately 97% of the Group’s net investments (excluding disposal plans). EDF R&D plays a major role in the development of low-carbon solutions (switchover to electric uses, electric mobility, new nuclear power, renewable energy, and storage), whilst also improving the performance and safety of existing installations.
As part of its investment policy, EDF group’s financial commitments are analysed in the light of the CAP 2030 strategy and the Group’s carbon commitment. Investment profitability is assessed on the basis of medium to long-term scenarios that take into account carbon prices in regions subject to greenhouse gas emissions markets, such as the EU’s ETS in Europe. Scenarios involving a high carbon price direct Group investments towards low-carbon assets. The description of the scenarios used and their consequences are currently confidential, but EDF group is working towards being able to make some aspects public, in line with TCFD (Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations.
EDF group has been a pioneer in so-called “sustainable” finance, with a first Green Bond issue in 2013. Since then, the Group has carried out three other issues, raising a total of €4.5 billion and making EDF one of the largest corporate green bond issuers in Europe. EDF has committed to allocating the funds raised to new investments in photovoltaic and wind power projects, in renovating and modernising its hydropower fleet in mainland France and internationally, in projects relating to energy efficiency and conservation of biodiversity.
