Hydroelectricity is the second source of electricity generation after nuclear power and the first source of renewable electricity in France. This is an important sector for the electricity system due to its flexibility and its contribution in terms of grid security and balancing.
There were 425 plants within the scope of EDF at the end of 2022, with an average age of 77 years (1).
| Hydropower generation facilities | 31/12/2022 | 31/12/2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Maximum Capacity (in GW) | Total Maximum Capacity (in GW)31/12/202220.1 |
Total Maximum Capacity (in GW)31/12/202120.1 |
| Total Output Including pumped-storage hydropower plants (in TWh) | Total Output Including pumped-storage hydropower plants (in TWh)31/12/202232.4 |
Total Output Including pumped-storage hydropower plants (in TWh)31/12/202141.8 |
Within mainland France, hydropower plants are mainly located in mountainous areas in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Massif Central and the Jura, as well as on the Rhine. In all, they represent an installed capacity of approximately 20.1GW (2), or 23% of EDF fleet’s installed capacity, for energy capacity of more than 40TWh.
The various hydropower facilities are designed to optimise the use of water resources in the valleys where they are situated, as part of multi-purpose water management. Given the size and variety of its fleet, EDF has facilities able to respond to all types of desired uses, from base to peak generation which also offer levers for optimisation due to their flexibility.
| Facility category | Turbine capacity (GW) | Average gravity capacity over 60 years (1) (TWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Run-of-river | Run-of-river Turbine capacity (GW)3.6 |
Run-of-river Average gravity capacity over 60 years (1) (TWh)16.4 |
| Lake-supplied | Lake-supplied Turbine capacity (GW)8.2 |
Lake-supplied Average gravity capacity over 60 years (1) (TWh)14.2 |
| Pondage | Pondage Turbine capacity (GW)3.1 |
Pondage Average gravity capacity over 60 years (1) (TWh)7.8 |
| Pumped-storage (2) | Pumped-storage (2)Turbine capacity (GW)5.0 |
Pumped-storage (2)Average gravity capacity over 60 years (1) (TWh)1.5 |
| Tidal | Tidal Turbine capacity (GW)0.2 |
Tidal Average gravity capacity over 60 years (1) (TWh)0.5 |
(1) The average production over 60 years has been re-evaluated on the basis of observed climate change.
(2) Only gravity capacity is counted in the pumped-storage hydropower plants; pumped energy is not taken into account.
In 2022, EDF’s hydropower electricity generation in mainland France was 32.4TWh (3), amounting to 10.1% of EDF’s total electricity generation in 2022. This historically low level of generation is due to the combined effects of extremely low levels of water availability throughout the year and prudent management of reservoir filling in order to contribute to the requirements of the electricity grid in the event of high pressures on supply and demand balancing.
In 2022, EDF spent more than €526 million in mainland France for the development and maintenance of its hydropower generation fleet to ensure optimum and safe operation.
In order to take advantage of the flexibility of its hydropower generation facilities, for some years now EDF has been initiating ambitious programmes involving automation, remote control of hydropower plants and centralised management for each valley. These power plants correspond to over 15.5GW, approximately 77% of installed hydro capacity. They are remote-controlled from four control centres able to make adjustments to the plants’ operating programmes at any time in order to respond to the needs of the electricity system and to economic opportunities arising on the electricity market.
To improve the reliability of its largest power plants, EDF monitors physical parameters (temperature, vibration, other technical data) of machinery, from its regional operations centres. This enables any discrepancy to be speedily detected; incidents can be avoided by a better knowledge of the state and behaviour of the equipments in operation.
Hydropower generation may witness substantial variations from one year to the next, depending on climatic fluctuations in water resources. 2022 was characterised by very low levels of water availability and very good output performance (record availability of production resources at the start of the winter). This was due to the mobilisation of all teams to ensure the availability and performance of hydroelectric power generation facilities during the energy crisis. Special care was taken to provide availability for the winters of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, as well as to developing sources of leverage to provide as much power and energy as possible in the event of pressure on the electricity grid during the winter of 2022/2023.
Anticipating needs relating to the expansion of variable renewable energy (solar and wind power), the emphasis is on increasing the flexibility of hydroelectric production resources and adaptation of power plant remote operation.
EDF is also exploring other avenues of production. For instance, in June 2022, EDF Hydro announced a €2 million investment in Sweetch Energy, a start-up specialising in osmotic energy, with a view to rolling out this technology on a large scale in France and abroad. Osmotic energy is generated by the difference in salinity that occurs where fresh water from rivers and salt water from the sea meet.
EDF performs regular monitoring and maintenance of dams, contributing to hydropower safety. Hydropower safety comprises all the measures taken when designing and operating hydropower plants to reduce risks and hazards to people and property associated with water and the presence or operation of facilities. Hydropower safety is a major and permanent concern of the producer.
It involves three main activities:
See risk factor 4E – Hydraulic safety violations in section 2.2.4 “Risks related to operational performance”.
(1) Sliding 1-year arithmetic mean of a like-for-like fleet, recalculated in 2021.
(2) Excluding French overseas territories and departments and Corsica.
(3) Excluding the power required to operate pumped-storage hydropower plants (STEP)
(4) Metropolitan France and French overseas departments, regions, and collectivities, including wholly-owned subsidiaries.
(5) For further details, see the annual report of the Inspector of Hydropower Safety, available on EDF’s website.
