Via its subsidiary EDF Chile, created in 2014, the Group has a 50% shareholding of GM Holdings(1). GM Holdings operates 3 thermal generation assets, totalling 750MW.
On the 30 September 2021, EDF and AME finalized the financing of the Chacao+ project, which includes the construction of Chile’s largest solar plant with a capacity of 480MW (construction on going) and the conversion of one of the thermal generation assets (132MW) from diesel to gas (conversion on going).
Moreover, EDF has been prospecting for development opportunities and working on the predevelopment phase of energy storage assets, especially hydro pump storage and green hydrogen projects.
The EDF group is also present in Chile through EDF Renewables which has three projects in operation and several other under development:
Since 2018, the Group is present in Peru via its subsidiary EDF Peru SAC which is prospecting for development opportunities and working on the development phase of power generation assets, especially from photovoltaic, hydraulic sources and gas.
A first realization took place in 2021 with the award of several PPAs to supply electricity based on hybrid solar-diesel plants to some off grid cities of Loreto Region in the Peruvian Amazon Area, those cities being currently supplied only by diesel generators, with a high cost of generation and a very high level of emissions.
The distribution company Electro Oriente organized various auctions to replace a large part of the diesel generation by renewable energy (solar and batteries). EDF Peru and its partner Novum Solar, which already had 2 hybrid small solar plants in operation before the auctions, won 8 auctions and set up a joint company (Amazonas Energia Solar) to co-develop, build and operate these 10 plants.
At the end of 2022, 3 plants (out of the 10) are already operating: Purus, Atalaya and San Lorenzo (al together, approx. 4MWp and 2MWh) and the 7 remaining projects are moving forward with a progressive set up planning speed out on 2023- 2025. The whole investment (until 2034) should amount to 37MWc of solar panels and 61MWh of batteries.
EDF Peru SAC also signed in the end of 2022 the Shareholders Agreement with its local partner Pedro Gonazales to step-into Electro Araza, a SPV decicated to develop a Greenfield – 135MW run of river hydro plant.
In addition, EDF RE won an auction to replace up to 200GWh/y of generation based on heavy fuels with renewable energy in the city of Iquitos (largest isolated city in the world) and will build and operate a hybrid plant of 130MWp and 160MWh storage whose commissioning is planned in 2026.
Since 2020, the Group is present in Colombia via EDF Renewables Colombia SAS and EDF Colombia SAS which have prospected for development opportunities and worked on the development stage of power generation assets, especially of unconventional renewable energy (solar and biomass), and of green hydrogen generation facilities.
In 2022, an agreement was signed between Colombia Reforestadora de la Costa SAS (“Refocosta”), a 100% subsidiary of Valorem SAS, and EDF Colombia SAS (“EDF”) for the construction of a 25MW biomass plant held through their joint subsidiary Refoenergy Villanueva SAS (“Refoenergy”). The construction is expected to start in early 2023.
The EDF group’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region are focused on China and fast developing countries. The presence in the sectors of electricity generation, networks and services constitutes an industrial challenge for the Group. In nuclear power, in addition to the EPR project in Taishan, the Group is also pursuing new projects.
The EDF group has had operations in China for over 40 years, and is now one of the largest foreign investors in electricity generation and energy services. EDF operates around 3.4GW of net installed capacity(2), in particular via stakes in the Taishan EPR power plant, the Dongtai IV and V offshore wind farms, coal-fired thermal power plants and operation of heating and cooling networks.
53.1% of electricity from assets held by EDF in China was CO2-free in 2022, higher than the Chinese national average (49.6%).
The EDF group has been developing partnerships with leading Chinese electric energy companies, which open up new prospects for investment in the nuclear industry, renewable energies, energy services and engineering.
For the risks to which the Group is exposed, see section 2.2.4 “Risks related to operational performance” – risk factors 4A and 4B.
EDF is developing partnerships with key players in the Chinese nuclear industry, in particular its peers CGN and CNNC, to the benefit of the Group’s business lines. The General Partnership Agreement between EDF and CGN was signed in 2007 and complemented in 2014 by implementation of agreements related to engineering, providers, R&D, and plant operation-maintenance.
The partnership with CGN resulted in the signature by EDF and CGN of the final contracts for the Hinkley Point C power plant in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2016. An agreement covering the development of the UK Hualong technology was also signed at that time.
The EDF group has set up a facility based in Beijing and Shenzhen (the Group’s front office for China’s nuclear industry) with the aim of promoting the EDF model of an integrated architect-assembler operator while acting as a flagship for French industry and positioning itself to support the Group’s projects partnership with the Chinese nuclear sector. Experts in this facility are working, in particular, to further promote French codes and standards, as well as the Group’s nuclear safety guidelines. They are also a source of technical exchanges benefiting the EDF group’s nuclear projects and activities.
In addition, an agreement between AFCEN (chaired by EDF) and NEA (National Energy Administration) was signed in November 2017. Its objective is to promote mutual recognition of nuclear codes and standards and to establish a basis for cooperation between France and China enabling both countries to operate on the international nuclear market.
EDF also chairs the Partenariat France Chine Électricité (PFCE), made up of qualified suppliers of EDF which are seeking to develop in China.
In 2010, the Group concluded a partnership framework agreement with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), extended in March 2014 and renewed in 2019, aimed at developing their cooperation along deeper, global lines.
In 2022, the Group signed a master cooperation agreement with State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to develop joint projects in the field of low-carbon energy.
EDF led the design, construction and commissioning in 1994 of the Daya Bay power plant (two nuclear reactors of 1,000MW each). EDF also assisted the Chinese group China General Nuclear Power Co. (CGN) in the construction of the Ling Ao Phase 1 power plant (two reactors of 1,000MW commissioned in 2002 and 2003), followed by Phase 2 (two additional reactors of 1,000MW commissioned in 2010 and 2011).
EDF is currently providing assistance to the CGN group with the operation of its entire fleet. The performance recorded by these plants since they were commissioned is one of the Group’s main references in China, bearing witness to the cooperation between the two countries.
(1) Alongside BiobioGenera (50%) of which AME is the controlling shareholder.
(2) Share in the capacity corresponding to EDF’s stake.
