The two coal-fired power plants in France have obtained authorization to operate longer in order to avoid any winter blackouts, and this until the end of 2024, through a temporary relaxation of gas emission standards at greenhouse effect, the Ministry of Energy Transition said on Thursday. Next winter, “we anticipate a lower voltage level” compared to last year, “but as a precaution, we are taking all the measures which will ensure French electricity production”, specifies the ministry.
Resulting from the Climate Law, the greenhouse gas emission ceiling applicable to energy producers has now been raised to “1.8 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt of electrical power installed between April 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024”, is it indicated in a decree published Thursday in the official journal. This will allow “the power plants to operate for 500 additional hours” over the period compared to the ceiling of 1,300 hours initially authorized until the end of 2024, it is specified in the public consultation from which the decree results. These 1,800 hours correspond to 75 days of non-stop production.
In the winter of 2022-2023, the coal-fired power stations had obtained authorization to operate for 2,500 hours, or 104 continuous days. “This ceiling gives a very wide possibility of use in the event of a big cold snap”, explains Julien Teddé, managing director of the broker Opéra Energie. “But coal-fired power plants are in any case controlled by economic logic,” he adds, while their commissioning is very expensive.
At the same time, coal-fired power plants will have to pay more for offsetting their emissions. Each ton of CO2 equivalent emitted will now cost them 50 euros instead of 40, indicates the same decree. In France, two coal-fired power plants are still in operation in the event of a peak in electricity demand, in Cordemais (Loire-Atlantique) and Saint-Avold (Moselle). Their production represented 0.6% of the French electricity mix last year, largely dominated by nuclear energy.