For some twenty years now, the EDF group has been implementing and supporting the closure of as many units powered by coal across Europe as possible. Since 2017, the EDF group has been engaged in the Powering Past Coal Alliance (1), which promotes the phasing out of coal in EU countries by 2030 and in the rest of the world by 2050 in the wake of the Paris Agreement. The EDF group supports the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement (2) that was recently signed at COP26.
| Commitment |
|---|
|
Commitment In 2019, the EDF group set itself the goal to stop coal-fired power generation by 2030 in all geographical areas. |
| Closure schedule for the remaining coal-fired units operated by the EDF group | |
|---|---|
| Cottam (4 units, 2,000MWe, United Kingdom) | September 2019 |
| Le Havre (1 unit, 580MWe, France) | April 2021 |
| West Burton A (units 3 and 4, 1,000MWe, United Kingdom) | September 2021 |
| West Burton A (units 1 and 2, 1,000MWe, United Kingdom) | March 2023 |
| Cordemais (2 units of 580MWe each, France) | To be determined |
| Results of the coal phase-out policy | |
| Number of coal-fired carbon units shut down since 1995 | 33 |
| Coal-based electricity production capacity withdrawn since 1995 (in GWe) | 10.8 |
| Estimated reduction in annual emissions (in MtCO2e)* | 40 |
| Coal-based electricity and heat production capacity, 2022 (in GWe) | 2.8GW |
| Ratio of coal-based electricity and heat production to total production, 2022 (in %) | 0.5% |
* Conservative estimate, assuming an average load factor of 45% for coal-fired power plants.
Additional information
40Mt reduction in CO2 e emissions
This coal phase-out policy resulted in an estimated reduction of the European electrical sector’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40MtCO2 e.
Tightly controlled and ultimately limited operation
In 2022, coal-fired heat and electricity generation accounted for 0.5% of the EDF group’s total in 2022 output. These production assets are used only during “peak” periods or in the event of an energy market crisis (3), as was the case for 2021-2022 and the coming winter of 2022-2023.
In France, pursuant to Article R. 311-7-2 of the French Energy Code (Code de l’énergie), coal-fired electricity generation facilities are subject to an emissions cap. To address temporary supply difficulties, Article 36 of the French Act no. 2022-1158 of 16 August 2022 on emergency measures to protect purchasing power and its Decree of Application no. 2022-1233 of 14 September 2022 temporarily raised the emissions caps for these production assets. As part of this scheme, any increased use of thermal, coal-fired power generation entails an obligation on the operators in question to offset any surplus emissions produced as a result of the cap being raised. This offsetting obligation involves a one-off payment of €40/teqCO2 emitted being made to a carbon offset fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide finance for greenhouse gas reduction and storage in France. See also section 3.1.1.6.1 “Policy”.
As of April 2023, the EDF group will be operating only two coal-fired units in Europe, located at the Cordemais power plant in the Loire-Atlantique region. The final closure of the Cordemais power plant, initially planned for 2022, has been
postponed in view of the needs expressed by RTE (4). A partial conversion to biomass has been commenced. See section 1.4.1.2.2 “Issues relating to thermal generation”.
As well as closing coal-fired boilers, the EDF group closed all of its high-capability fuel oil boilers between 2000 and 2018, corresponding to installed capacity of 6.8GWe. These fuel oil boilers with individual capacity of between 250 and 700MWe were kept in operation solely for electricity production spikes.
All of these closures are accompanied by employee redeployment measures and initiatives within the Group to develop new local economic activities. See section 3.4.3.3.1 “Declining activities and territories”.
Corsica and the French overseas territories, as Non-Interconnected Zones (NIZ) in terms of the mainland power grid, are covered by specific Multi-Year Energy Programme (PPE), which set ambitious low-carbon and energy independence goals for them (energy independence of overseas territories by 2030 and Corsica by 2050).
Fossil fuel-fired facilities, mainly oil or diesel generators and combustion turbines (CT), have historically played a major role in these zones. They contribute to the safety of the electricity system and the production of electricity in certain areas, being capable of addressing major seasonal effects in electricity consumption and dealing with the intermittent nature of renewable energy in electricity systems that cannot import in the event of a spike in demand or a shortfall in production.
(1) poweringpastcoal.org/members
(2) ukcop26.org/global-coal-to-clean-power-transition-statement/
(3) The French Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) has ruled that the raised emissions cap for fossil-fuel-powered electricity generation facilities must only apply in the event of a serious threat to the security of supply of electricity (Decision no. 2022-843, DC dated 12 August 2022).
(4) According to the provisional supply/demand balance for electricity in France published by RTE in 2021, keeping the Cordemais power plant in operation until 2024-2026 provides valuable security in the event of nuclear power not being highly available, no change in the trajectories for renewables, and/or the commissioning of the Flamanville EPR being postponed.
