Article 12 of Law no. 2019-1147 of 8 November 2019 on energy and the climate provide that the administrative authority shall set by decree “An emissions cap applicable, as of 1 January 2022, to fossil fuel-fired power generation facilities located in continental mainland France that emit over0.55 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per megawatt hour.” Article D. 311-7-2 of the French Energy Code, which was adopted to implement the aforementioned law, sets an annual threshold of 0.7 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per megawatt of installed electrical capacity. This corresponds to about 700 hours of annual operation for a coal-fired power plant.
This legal and regulatory mechanism makes the operator responsible for deciding whether or not to continue operating such installations after 2022, and makes no provision for compensation.
Due to the fact that RTE had placed the winter of 2021-2022 on heightened vigilance and to the need to ensure supply security(1), the Ministry for the Ecological Transition submitted for public consultation, from 30 December 2021 to 20 January 2022, a draft decree to allow an exceptional derogation from compliance with the aforementioned annual threshold of 0.7 kilotonnes for the first two months of 2022. Therefore, a new threshold of 1 kilotonne of carbon dioxide equivalents per megawatt of installed electrical capacity will apply for the period between 1 January 2022 and 28 February 2022, which is the period of peak winter consumption. This corresponds to about 1,000 hours of annual operation per unit during this period. The threshold will then be lowered to 0.6 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per megawatt of installed electrical capacity for the remainder of 2022. Finally, the decree provides that as from 1 January 2023, the cap on greenhouse gas emissions will remain at 0.7 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year per megawatt of installed electrical capacity.
Thermal generation activities are also subject to other specific regulations, including those resulting from Directive 2012/18 of 4 July 2012 (known as “Seveso III”), as well as the more general air quality legislation resulting from EU Directive 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC, Directive 2010/75/EU of 24 November 2010, amended, on industrial emissions (IED), and Directive 2015/2193/EU on the delimitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants (sulphur dioxide, (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust).
In spring 2018, EDF permanently shut down its last thermal power plant running operating on heavy fuel oil, in Cordemais.
EDF commissioned the first Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant in France at Blénod in 2011, then two CCGT plants at Martigues in 2012 and 2013 followed by a next-generation CCGT plant at Bouchain in 2016 in partnership with General Electric.
This modernisation of the thermal generation fleet reduces its atmospheric emissions of CO2, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides.
The CCGTs in Martigues are the result of the repowering of former oil-fired units, a part of whose facilities, such as the steam turbine, the condenser and the water treatment facilities, were reused. The installed capacity of the Martigues site is 930MW and the return is over 50%, markedly higher than the return of coal-fired thermal units.
The innovative Bouchain CCGT delivers improved capacity (600 MW achievable in under 30 minutes) and return (over 60%) and offers good environmental performance with CO2 emissions of around 360 g/kWh on average, one third of those of the old neighbouring coal-fired plant shut down in 2015.
Decommissioning of thermal fleet shut down units
EDF has planned all of the decommissioning operations on its units which were shutdown or whose shutdown is scheduled. The provisions for these operations have been made in an amount that corresponds to the cost of decommissioning all of the units being operated and the clean-up of the sites (see section 6.1 “Consolidated financial statements”, note 17.1 “Other provisions for decommissioning”).
In 2021, EDF continued the decommissioning work on sites that had been definitively shut down. The main work carried out in 2021 was asbestos removal on the units withdrawn from operation at Cordemais and Le Havre, together with decommissioning on the Blénod site (chimneys).
EDF is careful to preserve the potential of its sites to the greatest extent possible, with precision allocation of space and the implementation of local monitoring of planning regulations so as to secure its own needs. This differentiated ground and space management has made it possible to free up EDF land from occupancy issues (freeing up new land resources, biodiversity potential, and restoring natural land), taking into account the Group’s needs and assisting local authorities with the development of new types of activity (such as the implementation of
Cleantech Valléeon the Aramon site).
Fossil fuel-fired power plants are subject to legislation on facilities that are classified for the protection of the environment (ICPEs), which is organised in the French Environmental Code. Activities covered by listed facilities legislation are listed in a register which places them in a declaration, registration, or authorisation regime depending on the level of risks and drawbacks which may arise. These regulations require sites to be restored when a facility is taken out of service, depending on the expected future use of the land; for certain facilities, the constitution of financial guarantees is also required. Depending on the nature of the hazards and/or drawbacks for each category of installation, these are designed to ensure surveillance of the site, the ongoing security of the facility, interventions in the event of accidents prior to or subsequent to closure, and restoration of the site after closure.
EDF group is now the leader in renewable energy in Europe and more specifically, the leading supplier of hydropower in the European Union. Hydropower generation is the Group’s most significant renewable energy source, with installed capacity of 22.3GW(2). The Group is also a leader in developing competitive industrial sectors, primarily wind and solar. EDF’s goal is to achieve 21 GW of net installed capacity in solar and wind power by the end of 2024. Renewable energies already account forever a quarter of the Group’s overall installed capacity.
The EDF group’s commitments in terms of developing renewable energy are also described in section 3.1.1.4 “EDF, a company committed to the development of decarbonated energy in Europe”.
(1) Provided for in Article L100-1 of the French Energy Code.
(2) Excluding marine energies. 22.5GW including marine energies.
