Nuclear, renewable … details of the government's energy plan

Subscribers article

Emmanuel Macron and François de Rugy presented Tuesday, November 27, the main lines of the Multi-Year Energy Program (EPP). This roadmap, which is the goal of the 2015 Energy Transition Law, has two objectives:

• face the challenge of climate change by drastically limiting greenhouse gas emissions, which have been on the rise since 2015;
• to diversify the electricity mix, reducing France's dependence on nuclear energy.

But the movement of the yellow vests came to hit the plans of the government, which has been hammering since its concern is "Think about the energy bill of the French". In these ads, he mixes the main lines of PEP and the shorter-term answers to the movement of yellow vests.

PEP presented Tuesday is only at the beginning of its process. It will be submitted in the coming months to several consultative bodies. At the same time, the energy transition law needs to be partially amended to include the nuclear reduction target of 2035 – compared with 2025 previously. The PEP should know its final version in the summer of 2019. Here are the highlights of the government project.

• Nuclear: between 4 and 6 reactor closures by 2028

The government sets at 2035 the date of reduction to 50% of nuclear power generation, against 75% today. To do this the government proposes to close two nuclear reactors in 2027 and 2028 – in addition to the two reactors of the Alsatian Fessenheim plant, which must stop in the spring of 2020.

Two others could close over the period, if the development of renewable energy is at a steady pace. A total of 4 reactors. This scenario is lower than that mentioned by Nicolas Hulot during his resignation. The former minister defended the closure of 8 reactors before 2028, including both Fessenheim.

The executive also confirms its desire to close the last four French coal plants by the end of the five-year period.

• Fourteen closures by 2035

Reactor shutdowns could pick up after 2028, with six to eight more shutdowns over the period. In concrete terms, if the government's plan goes as planned, it could lead to the closure of 14 reactors between 2020 and 2035, ie 20% of the current fleet. These decisions should concern some of the oldest reactors, particularly at the Bugey (Ain), Tricastin (Drôme), Cruas (Ardèche), Gravelines (Nord) and Dampierre (Loiret), Blayais (Gironde), Chinon and Saint-Laurent sites. . The Government adds, however, that no plant will be completely closed to limit the social and economic consequences for the territories.