The EDF group, through its subsidiary Dalkia, manages over 330 urban heating and cooling networks. It is France’s number one energy service provider. Dalkia has set itself the goal of achieving 65% renewable and recovered energy (R&RE) in its heating networks in France by 2026, and achieved 57.7% in 2020 (1).
This commitment has led to development of the use of biomass, recovery of waste heat, and geothermal and oceanic thermal energy conversion. For more details, see section 3.1.4.3 “Developing efficient, low-energy, innovative energy services”.
Globally, coal accounted for 2.62% of 2021 heat production by Dalkia, which has committed to no longer use this fuel for its heating activities in France, in line with the provisions of the Multi-Year Energy Programme.
Use of renewable energies and energy efficiency services enabled Dalkia to reduce its customers’ greenhouse gas emissions and allowed 4 million tonnes of CO2e to be avoided in 2021 (see section 1.4.6.1.1 “Dalkia”).
See section 3.1.4.2.3 “Low-carbon electricity at an affordable price”.
Gas activities account for a significant share of the EDF group's GHG report, particularly through three activities: production of electricity from natural gas, production of heat from natural gas, and sale of natural gas to end customers (residential customers, businesses, and local authorities).
The CAP 2030 Decarbonised Thermal Project launched in March 2021 aims to propose for each of the Group’s thermal assets:
Within this framework, a “Decarbonised Thermal” programme has been drawn up to anticipate the needs of the roadmap as far as possible: to have proven “Decarbonised Thermal” technology available as soon as possible by 2030 and to enable the identification of the necessary resources.
The EDF group has defined a set of internal criteria promoting low-carbon thermal energy in order to align its gas business with its climate-related commitments:
All the EDF group’s gas activities fit into the carbon trajectories (covering both direct and indirect emissions) set for each of the Group’s entities in line with the Group’s 2030 goals. All development projects must demonstrate a contribution to the energy transition of the relevant regions and their business plan must ensure compliance with the Group’s 2050 carbon neutral target.
No development of new gas projects (Combined Cycle Gas, CCG), unless the project contributes to reducing the carbon intensity of the country’s electrical system or further secures its supply. When technically and economically feasible, the project uses solutions enabling reduction of its direct emissions, such as green gas, hydrogen or CO2 capture and storage.
The EDF group helps its gas customers to shift to energy savings, energy efficiency and a reduction in their emissions through its products and services, expertise and specialised subsidiaries. it develops and encourages alternative solutions to fossil fuels whenever available (electricity, heat pumps, renewable gas, renewable heat etc.).
The EDF group supports the development of the biogas sector whenever a project’s business model is viable in the long term. It does so mainly through its subsidiary Dalkia, which operates in biogas production, processing and recovery activities, both for cogeneration and direct reinjection into the natural gas distribution network.
Finally, the EDF group is constantly working 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.
Fluorinated gases such as sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), used as refrigerating fluids, are powerful greenhouse gases. Their emissions in 2021 were estimated for the entire EDF group at a total of 148ktonnes of CO2e, i.e. approximately 0.5% of EDF group direct emissions (Scope 1). Emissions are produced by leaks during both the production process and lifecycle. Wherever technologically and economically possible, the EDF group uses alternative technologies to SF6. All EDF group business lines are working to cut the carbon impact of HFCs wherever technologically possible.
Based on a proactive policy, the Nuclear Generation Division in France managed to reduce its SF 6 emissions by 85% between 2008 and 2020 and since 2019 has set up a plan of specific actions designed to restore all its facilities to their initial leakage rate, i.e. 1% per year. The overall rate in 2020 was 1.83%; in 2021, it should be less than 1.5%, despite an isolated incident at one site during the year (a leak of approximately 210kg). The average rate of leakage from sites located on river banks is less than 0.4%, even though coastal sites contribute considerably to emissions due to corrosion of equipment.
Investments made by EDF over the past three years have halved emissions from nuclear fleet overall. EDF is deploying a range of technological innovations to achieve this, including alternative coatings to protect against corrosion and innovative solutions for SF6 recovery and leak plugging. EDF’s procedure in this respect forms part of an As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) policy that is appropriate in view of unit safety issues and network security.
The air insulation technology adopted for the EPR2 project’s Energy Removal Platform (2) means that equipment liable to contain SF6 can be kept to a minimum. The technology adopted for switchgear will depend on the developments and apparatus available on the market at the time that contracts are drawn up.
For the Flamanville EPR, it has been decided to locate the equipment in question indoors in order to protect it from sea wind corrosion. EDF has also committed to an R&D programme (Project Zero SF6) to monitor and test alternatives to SF6 for its installations.
SF6 emissions by distribution network operator Enedis amounted to approximately 400kg in 2021. The action plan implemented by Enedis to reduce these emissions has focused in particular on the deployment, since July 2021, of a new technical series of high-voltage vacuum breakers (with no SF6) for new high-voltage switchgear fitted in primary medium- and high-voltage substations. In 2021,120 vacuum breakers were installed in 6 source substations. In 2022, approximately 1,000 vacuum breakers are due to be installed. Over 90% of SF6 from obsolete breakers is recovered and regenerated, thus avoiding the need to produce new gas. Following on from this initial success, Enedis is entering into partnerships with suppliers to evaluate alternative solutions based on entirely non-toxic natural gases for secondary substations.
HFCs are used as refrigerating fluid in industrial refrigeration units and air conditioning in the service sector. Their use expanded worldwide from the 1980s onwards, as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and HFCs whose use was prohibited by the Montreal Protocol (1987) due to their destructive effects on the stratospheric ozone layer. Atmospheric emissions of HFC are the result of leaks that may occur during the lifecycle of these products.
The main method of reducing these greenhouse gas emissions is to use refrigerating fluids that have a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP), in line with the goals of EU legislation seeking to reduce the quantities of HFCs (expressed in CO2e) on the market by 79% compared to 2015 levels by 2030.
Presently, the most-used refrigerating fluid in EDF’s production fleet (almost 95%) has a GWP of 1,430. EDF has commissioned studies to evaluate the possibility of converting existing refrigerating units to operate with refrigerating fluid with a lower GWP (< 600).
(1) 2020 2021 data were not available at the time of publication of this document.
(2) See section 1.4.1.1.3 “Other ‘New Nuclear’ projects”.
