Universal Registration Document 2020

1.4 Description of the Group’s activities

1. The Group, its strategy and activities

1.4 Description of the Group’s activities

1.4.1 Electricity generation activity

Against a backdrop in which there will be more electricity usages, the Group has one of the largest power generation fleets in the world, with some of the lowest CO2 emissions, thanks to the share of nuclear and renewable energy in its energy mix. The Group intends to greatly accelerate the development of renewable energy in France and worldwide, with the goal of achieving 60GW net in 2030, whilst building on itsnuclear base, which is capable of modulating its power to adjust to the intermittent renewable energy production. The Group is also preparing for the nuclear energy of the future with EPRs.

120.5 GW 
INSTALLED CAPACITY WORLDWIDE(1)

33.3 GW 
NET RENEWABLES CAPACITY

90% 
DECARBONISED GENERATION 

(1) Consolidated data.

(2) Direct CO2 emissions related to production, excluding life-cycle assessment (LCA) of production means and fuel.

In mainland France, the electricity generation activities are split across the Nuclear and Thermal Fleet Department and the Renewable Energy Division. In addition to these two departments, the Engineering and New Nuclear Project Department is responsible for the development projects for the Group’s new nuclear generation assets, in France and abroad.

Strengths of the generation fleet

The Group’s generation fleet has significant strengths:

  • a variety of means of generation, which enable adequate coverage of EDF’s downstream portfolio needs (end users, sales to alternative suppliers, sales on the whole sale markets, etc.). The use of the different components of the assets is managed by placing the priority at any time on the resources offering the lowest variable costs:
  • run-of-river hydropower is used for base generation,
  • because of their low variable generation costs, nuclear plants are used for base and mid-merit generation,
  • adjustable hydropower generation (from dams) complemented by pumped storage hydropower plants (STEPs)(1) and the thermal fleet are used for
    mid-merit and peak generation;
  • a standardised nuclear fleet of 56 reactors in France (after the permanent shutdown of the two Fessenheim units) and 15 reactors in the United Kingdom;
  • the construction of EPR-type reactors worldwide and the operation of 2 EPRs in China;
  • the control of the entire life cycle of nuclear generation resources: design, operation, and decommissioning, and the implementation of actions aimed at improving the technical performance of power stations and extending operating lifespan;
  • a fleet generating at 90% without CO2(2) emissions due to the predominance of nuclear and hydro-power generation facilities;
  • a geographical position at the junction of electricity exchanges between the continental platform and the electric peninsulas (Italy, Spain and the UK).
Composition and specifications of the installed fleet
EDF fleet in mainland France

With total installed power of 87.01GW in mainland France(3) at
31 December 2020,EDF has the largest generation fleet in Europe, accounting for approximately 7.5% of the total installed power in the main countries in Europe(4).

In 2020 in mainland France, EDF’s generation fleet produced 382.8 TWh excluding pumped storage hydropower, and 389TWh including pumped storage hydropower.

At 31 December 2020, the capacity of EDF’s generation fleet was mainly composed of:

  • 56 nuclear units based on pressurised water reactors (PWR), with electrical power capacities ranging from 900MW to 1,500MW, and an average age of 35 years
    (see section 1.4.1.1.2 “Nuclear power generation in France”);
  • 20 functioning thermal units, with an average age of around 22 years (see section 1.4.1.2 “Thermal generation in mainland France”);
  • 427 hydropower plants, with an average age of 75 years(5) (see section 1.4.1.3.1“Hydropower generation in France”);
  • other hydropower plants owned by the Group’s subsidiaries: ÉS, SHEMA Group(100%), CERGA and RKI (on the Rhine, owned 50%-50% with German energy company EnBW) and the Franco-Swiss entities of Chatelôt and Emosson, accounting for a total of approximately 142MW of installed capacity in 2020.

(1) EDF operates 5GW of STEP in France and its engineering is referenced to the tune of 30GW abroad
(e.g: Israel, Chile).

(2) Direct CO2 emissions related to production, excluding life-cycle assessment (LCA) of production resources and fuel.

(3) Excluding Corsica and French overseas departments.

(4) i.e. the 35 member areas of ENTSO-E – European Network Transmission System Operators for Electricity – that includes Germany, Italy and Spain. Calculation based on theENTSO-E statistics for the year 2018, as the statistics for the year 2019 and 2020 are not available.

(5) Arithmetic mean.