3.3.2.2.3 Soils

Pollution of soil and underground water is one of the potential environmental impacts of the Group’s industrial activities. The Group owns, or uses under concession, large land assets. The environmental policies of the Group entities aim to optimise the use of land and protect these environment against any impacts. Soil use is monitored as part of the actions related to biodiversity (see section 3.3.2.1 “EDF, committed to biodiversity (CSRG no.6)”).

Preventing impacts

The prevention of impacts is based on an “in-depth defence” approach and protection methods in place at all industrial sites: maintaining the integrity of means of protection to provide a barrier between chemical substances and the environment; control of effluents management operations; maintaining and inspecting ultimate structures such as retention systems; ensuring that the soil surface remains free from radiological and chemical contamination at industrial sites; monitoring the physico-chemical and radiological properties of groundwater directly beneath sites; building retention tanks at storage sites; reinforcing safeguards when transporting fuel or waste; ensuring the availability of emergency kits in the event of spillages and carrying out the corresponding drills; developing operational procedures and high levels of awareness among operators and service providers through suitable training.

These preventive measures are based on facility hazard studies and are enriched at the time of periodic reviews.

Optimising soil use

The action plans in place to manage situations across all of the Group’s sites consist of four stages: site surveys; identification of potential pollution; soil analysis; monitoring of sources of pollution and drawing up a management plan and considering possible remediation depending on future use and regulatory requirements.

In 2019, basic reports were drawn up in accordance with the European IED Directive on the SEI and Luminus sits (Seraing and Angleur) without revealing any major pollution. Soil management plans have been drawn up for Belleville and Chinon and the post-operation of sites being decommissioned, particularly in Dessel (Framatome). Decontamination work has been carried out in Le Havre, Flamanville, Hinkley Point (pre-existing issues) and decommissioning work has begun in Sarmato (Edison). EDF Hydro has carried out actions for the agricultural use of sediment for soil reconstitution.

Action plans are under way to limit the use of phytosanitary products. The distribution network manager, Enedis, has the goal of achieving “zero phytosanitary products” by 2020 to maintain green spaces adjoining service sites and from 2024 for industrial sites (source substations). EDF’s Real Estate Department has set a target of “zero phytosanitary products” by 2020 for its 123 service sites. 119 sites hit this target in 2019. Other entities no longer use these products⁽¹⁾. The action plans are based on alternatives to the use of chemical herbicides (mechanical, thermal or other), vegetation management protocols for EDF Renewables and EDF R&D (differentiated management of vegetation, sheep, etc.) as well as on rules relating to companies in charge of maintaining the green spaces. They are accompanied by a training and awareness-raising programme.

3.3.2.2.4 Resources

Fuels

The Group uses raw materials for electricity generation and to provide energy services to its customers. A significant portion of these are comprised of fuels: uranium, coal, gas, fuel-oil and biomass. Electricity consumption essentially for generation resource auxiliaries (approx. 20TWh/year) is mainly self-consumption⁽²⁾. Its sustainable development policy aims to preserve natural resources and optimise its consumption of raw materials, while guaranteeing energy supply to its customers. The Group has chosen to focus on several factors:

• variation in its generation mix with the development of renewable energies, declassification of thermal power plants, commissioning of high-efficiency combined gas cycle power plants (Edison’s Maghera Levante project is targeting the European efficiency record of 63%), use of biomass by Dalkia, modernisation of the island systems’ thermal fleet, and replacement of power plant motors in French overseas departments and territories;
• the optimisation of existing facilities: improving energy efficiency or output (IES, Dalkia, EDF Energy, MECO) through maintenance measures, modifications, fuel quality rules and more rigorous monitoring of efficiency levels or cogeneration (e-monitoring);
• the real-time selection of the best performing means of generation depending on the load curve and energy performance. These optimisation measures have been further reinforced with the ISO 50001 certification of thermal sites (Saint-Pierre & Miquelon in 2019). Dalkia uses an energy management tool to optimise energy facility fuel use and is increasing its renewable energy use rate, replacing fossil fuels;
• the implementation of a natural uranium savings strategy: EDF’s control of each stage of the fuel cycle, the design of high-efficiency fuel and suitable management of that fuel within nuclear units all contribute to optimising natural uranium needs (see section 1.4.1.1.4 “The nuclear fuel cycle and related issues”). Recycling spent fuel enables savings of 10% of natural uranium;
• the Group’s business model, based on managing its facilities’ full lifecycle, allows for efficient feedback as well as the implementation of eco-design initiatives developed at engineering centres, such as the EPR 2 project (extension of the lifespan of core instrumentation cables). As part of its supplier qualification system, EDF Renewables, whose raw material use is related to equipment manufacture, asks turbine and panel manufacturers to provide lifecycle analyses of their products. In parallel, lifecycle assessments are carried out on wind farms to optimise material use;
• the Group is also developing industrial ecology initiatives among its various entities and initiatives supporting local authorities through a service based on the RECYTER tool, developed by EDF R&D, for the regional diagnosis of material and energy flows.
  
  

Globally, consumption of different fossil fuels continued to fall in 2019: coal (-60%), heavy fuel oil (-4%), and gas (+7%). Coal consumption continued on the downward trend seen in 2018 following power plant closures. Gas consumption rose slightly, offsetting decreased nuclear generation and lower water levels at the start of the year. It is worth noting that there was a strong increase in the use of biomass (+36%) to 3 billion tonnes and wood (+70%) to 2.1 billion tonnes, due to the development of renewable energies in Dalkia’s mix.

(1) Cyclife, Edison, Luminus, EDF Norte Fluminense, Enedis, EDF Hydro; ÉS no longer uses any glyphosate-based products.
(2) Net electrical generation takes account of this self-consumption.