EDF Renewables is also active in Chile via the Boléro solar plant (146MWp) in the Atacama Desert, the Santiago Solar photovoltaic project (115MWp) which is jointly held with AME and opened in January 2018, and the Cabo Leones 1 wind farms(115MW) which came online in June 2018 (see section 1.4.1.5.4“EDF Renewables”).
Lastly, Citelum, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the EDF group, is also present in the country, in the road lighting market (see section 1.4.6.1.2 “Citelum”). In 2018, Citelum replaced 95% of road lights in Independencia (Santiago Province), helped reduce the town’s electricity consumption by 50% and designed various artistic lights to illuminate its most iconic sites and monuments. In Lo Barnechea, Citelum renewed and won several contracts and currently manages 23,315 road lights.
In 2018, EDF signed a Joint Development Agreement with its Peruvian partner GCZSAC to develop the run-off-river hydroelectric projects Alto and Chontayacu Bajo for a total of 260MW, via its subsidiary EDF Peru SAC incorporated in December 2018.
The EDF group’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region are focused on China and fast developing countries. The presence in the sectors of electricity generation, networks and services constitutes an industrial challenge for the Group. In nuclear power, in addition to the EPR project in Taishan, new projects should provide the Group with access to technological innovation and enable it to exploit its industrial expertise.
EDF’s objective is, thus, to maintain its competitive and technological advantages in the international arena focused on the global nuclear programme, the equipping of emerging countries, and the perspective of the French fleet renewal.
The EDF group has been present in China for more than 35 years through its advisory services in nuclear, thermal and hydraulic technologies. Today, it is one of China’s most significant foreign investors in electricity generation, with investments in coal-fired thermal power plants that have a total installed capacity of 2,000MW(1).With the commissioning of the Taishan facility (two 1,750MW reactors), EDF also became an investor with a 30% stake in an electricity generation project involving anEPR-type nuclear power plant. Lastly, the EDF group has been involved in renewable electricity generation in China since 2016 and is developing partnerships with leading Chinese electric energy companies, which open up new prospects for investment in the nuclear industry, renewable energies, energy services and engineering. 41% of electricity from EDF’s assets in China was CO2-free in 2019, higher than the Chinese national average.
After having led the design, construction and commissioning in 1994 of Daya Bay(two nuclear reactors of 1,000MW each) and then assisted the Chinese group ChinaGeneral Nuclear Power Co. (CGN) in the construction of the Ling Ao Phase 1 power plant (two reactors of 1,000MW commissioned in 2002 and 2003), followed byPhase 2 (two additional reactors of 1,000MW commissioned in 2010 and 2011), EDFis currently providing assistance to the CGN group with the operation of its entire fleet. The performance achieved by these power plants since commissioning is one of the Group’s main benchmarks in China. In addition, EDF owns a 30% shareholding inT aishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Ltd., which was set up to fund, build and operate two EPR nuclear reactors in Taishan, in the province of Guangdong.Through this project, the Group represents the first foreign investor in Chinese nuclear power generation. The project’s success will rest on the complementary expertise of the EDF (including Framatome) and CGN groups. Unit 1 came into commercial operation on 13 December 2018 and Unit 2 on 7 September 2019 (see section 1.4.1.2.2 “Other New Nuclear projects” and section 2.2.4 “OperationalPerformance”, risk factor 4A Management of large and complex industrial projects[including EPR]).
EDF is developing partnerships with key players in the Chinese nuclear industry, in particular its peers CGN and CNNC, with the latter benefiting from the Group’s business lines. The General Partnership Agreement between EDF and CGN was signed in 2007 and complemented in 2014 by implementation of agreements related to engineering, providers, R&D, and plant operation-maintenance. The partnership with CGN enabled the initiation of discussions concerning its participation in joint nuclear projects in Great Britain, which resulted in the signature by EDF and CGN of the final contracts for the Hinkley Point C power plant on 29 September 2016. An agreement covering the development of the UK Hualong technology was also signed at that time. The EDF group has set up a facility based in Beijing and Shenzhen (theGroup’s front office for China’s nuclear industry) with the aim of promoting the EDF model of an integrated architect-assembler operator while acting as a flagship forFrench industry and positioning itself to support the Group’s projects, in partnership with the Chinese nuclear sector. Experts in this facility are working, in particular, to further promote French codes and standards, as well as the Group’s nuclear safety guidelines. EDF also chairs the Partenariat France Chine Électricité (PFCE), made up of qualified suppliers of EDF which are seeking to develop in China.
In 2010, the Group concluded a partnership framework agreement with ChinaNational Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), extended in March 2014 and renewed in 2019, aimed at developing their cooperation along deeper, global lines. Lastly, in the context of the Franco-Chinese governmental declaration of June 2015, tripartite agreements (EDF and AREVA – Framatome with CGN and CNNC) were signed in2015, providing for, inter alia, the participation of the Chinese industrial customers inGreat Britain, as well as a partnership for the development of medium- and large-sized reactors. In addition, an agreement between AFCEN and NEA (NationalEnergy Administration) covering cooperation as regards codes and standards was signed in November 2017. Its objective is to promote mutual recognition of nuclear codes and standards and to establish a basis for cooperation between France andChina enabling both countries to operate on the international nuclear market.
The action plan for Franco-Chinese relations backed by the French and ChinesePresidents in November 2019 acclaims the cooperation between French and Chinese industrial groups on the EPR, in particular in Taishan, and calls for ongoing cooperation in China and on third-country markets, as well as continuation of the joint work on projects in the UK (Hinkley Point C, Sizewell, and Bradwell).
Framatome, specialising in nuclear steam supply systems, the supply of instrumentation & control systems, installed base services, and fuel, all provided with high levels of performance and safety, has been operating in China for 35 years. Framatome China draws on local skills and teams as well as on its own international experts, engineers, and technicians to address the needs of its customers. It designed the EPR; units 1 and 2 of the Taishan power plants are now in commercial operation. Framatome is taking part in the assembly and installation of the Tokamak facility(TAC1) at ITER’s nuclear fusion project centre, and is also supplying some equipment and technology building blocks for the Hualong project (RCP, I&C, etc.) along with the fuel. Framatome operates in China via joint ventures with Dongfang ElectricCorporation (FDJV) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CAST) and through its wholly-owned subsidiary Framatome Nuclear Services (FNS). Framatome operates on9 sites: Shanghai, Lianyungang, Songjiang, Haiyan, Deyang, Shenzhen, Daya Bay,and Taishan, with a representation office in Beijing.
The EDF group holds 19.6% of SZPC, a company which owns three coal-fired power plants in the Shandong province, commissioned between 1987 and 2004, with at otal capacity of 3,060MW. The other shareholders are the Guodian group (whichmerged with Shenhua in 2017 to form a new group, China Energy Investment Group)and the Hong Kong electricity producer CLP.
The EDF group holds 35% of DSPC, the company that owns the Sanmenxia 2 power plant in Henan province, commissioned in 2007, with an installed capacity of2×600MW, using a technology known as “supercritical coal”. This investment was made through a joint venture with a fixed lifespan, established by the Chinese authorities, running until 2039. The other shareholders are two Chinese companies including the Datang Group, which has a majority stake in which DSPC.
The EDF group holds 49% of FPC, a joint-venture created in 2014 with a subsidiary of the Datang group to build and operate an “ultra-supercritical” power plant (2×1,000MW) in the Jiangxi province. The first unit was commissioned inDecember 2015, the second in April 2016. Fuzhou is thus the first power plant of the“ultra-supercritical” type (in other words, having increased output and a limited environmental impact) in which the EDF group has a stake. This technology makes it possible to reach high levels of temperature and pressure in the boiler, assuring abetter output (close to 44% for Fuzhou) than a traditional power plant, while decreasing fuel consumption and CO2 per kilowatt-hour generated.
(1) Share in the capacity corresponding to EDF’s stake.
