Energy in France
Encyclopedia
Energy in France describes energy
and electricity
production, consumption and import in France
. Energy policy of France will describe more in detail the politics of France
related to energy. Electricity sector in France
is the main article of electricity in France.
(EDF) is the main electricity
generation and distribution company in France
. It was founded on April 8, 1946 as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors by the Communist Minister of Industrial Production Marcel Paul
. Until November 19, 2004 it was a government corporation, but it is now a limited-liability corporation
under private law (société anonyme). The French government
partially floated
shares of the company on the Paris Stock Exchange
in November 2005, although it retains almost 85% ownership as of the end of 2007.
EDF held a monopoly
in the distribution, but not the production, of electricity in France until 1999, when the first European Commission
directive to harmonize regulation of electricity market
s was implemented.
EDF is one of the world's largest producers of electricity. In 2003, it produced 22% of the European Union
's electricity, primarily from nuclear power
:
A report was published in 2011 by the World Energy Council
in association with Oliver Wyman
, entitled Policies for the future: 2011 Assessment of country energy and climate policies, which ranks country performance according to an energy sustainability index. The best performers were Switzerland, Sweden France.
Piper Jaffray
expected strong growth in France in 2009 and 2010, partly because of an expected decline in the price of solar panels and partly because of subsidies introduced in 2006 making themselves felt. France should be a key driver for solar together with Italy during 2009-2010. Piper Jaffray believes that France would add 500 megawatts of capacity in both 2009 and 2010. France has just 50 megawatts of solar power capacity now.
Hydroelectric dams in France include Eguzon dam
, Étang de Soulcem
, and Lac de Vouglans
.
confirmed the tendering process to build France's first five offshore wind farms, expected to have a capacity of 3GW
and to be sited off the Atlantic coast between Saint-Nazaire
and Dieppe
/Le Tréport
. Tender documents were to be sent out on April 1, with the winning bid announced in early 2012. A second round of bidding to provide a further 3GW of capacity is expected in 2012.
World energy resources and consumption
]World energy consumption in 2010: over 5% growthEnergy markets have combined crisis recovery and strong industry dynamism. Energy consumption in the G20 soared by more than 5% in 2010, after the slight decrease of 2009. This strong increase is the result of two converging trends...
and electricity
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
production, consumption and import in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Energy policy of France will describe more in detail the politics of France
Politics of France
France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
related to energy. Electricity sector in France
Electricity sector in France
The electricity sector in France is the main article of electricity in France. Energy in France focus energy and electricity production, consumption and import in France. Energy policy of France will describe the politics of France related to energy more in detail.In the year 2009 electricity was...
is the main article of electricity in France.
Overview
| Energy in France | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capita | Prim. energy | Production | Import | Electricity | CO2-emission | |
| Million | TWh | TWh | TWh | TWh | Mt | |
| 2004 | 62.2 | 3,200 | 1,598 | 1,633 | 478 | 387 |
| 2007 | 63.6 | 3,067 | 1,575 | 1,580 | 481 | 369 |
| 2008 | 64.1 | 3,099 | 1,589 | 1,621 | 494 | 368 |
| 2009 | 64.5 | 2,980 | 1,506 | 1,563 | 483 | 354 |
| Change 2004-2009 | 3.7 % | -6.9 % | -5.8 % | -4.3 % | 1.1 % | -8.4 % |
| Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Prim. energy includes energy losses that are 2/3 for nuclear power | ||||||
Companies
Électricité de FranceÉlectricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
(EDF) is the main electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
generation and distribution company in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It was founded on April 8, 1946 as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors by the Communist Minister of Industrial Production Marcel Paul
Marcel Paul
Marcel Paul was a French trade unionist and communist politician. He was also a Nazi concentration camp survivor and later served as a member of the French parliament.- Biography :...
. Until November 19, 2004 it was a government corporation, but it is now a limited-liability corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
under private law (société anonyme). The French government
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
partially floated
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
shares of the company on the Paris Stock Exchange
Euronext Paris
Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the UK's London Stock Exchange...
in November 2005, although it retains almost 85% ownership as of the end of 2007.
EDF held a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
in the distribution, but not the production, of electricity in France until 1999, when the first European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
directive to harmonize regulation of electricity market
Electricity market
In economic terms, electricity is a commodity capable of being bought, sold and traded. An electricity market is a system for effecting purchases, through bids to buy; sales, through offers to sell; and short-term trades, generally in the form of financial or obligation swaps. Bids and offers use...
s was implemented.
EDF is one of the world's largest producers of electricity. In 2003, it produced 22% of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's electricity, primarily from nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
:
- nuclear: 74.5%
- hydro-electric: 16.2%
- thermal: 9.2%
- wind powerWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
and other renewableRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
sources: 0.1%
A report was published in 2011 by the World Energy Council
World Energy Council
The World Energy Council is a global and inclusive forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement with headquarters in London. Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'....
in association with Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman is an international management consulting firm. Founded in 1984, the firm adopted its current form in May 2007, when Mercer Oliver Wyman joined with Mercer Management Consulting and Mercer Delta to become one firm named Oliver Wyman. Oliver Wyman is headquartered in New York City with...
, entitled Policies for the future: 2011 Assessment of country energy and climate policies, which ranks country performance according to an energy sustainability index. The best performers were Switzerland, Sweden France.
Renewable energy
Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray & Co. , often shortened to just Piper Jaffray or PiperJaffray, is a U.S. middle-market investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and sells financial advice, investment products, and transaction execution within targeted sectors of the financial services marketplace...
expected strong growth in France in 2009 and 2010, partly because of an expected decline in the price of solar panels and partly because of subsidies introduced in 2006 making themselves felt. France should be a key driver for solar together with Italy during 2009-2010. Piper Jaffray believes that France would add 500 megawatts of capacity in both 2009 and 2010. France has just 50 megawatts of solar power capacity now.
Hydroelectric dams in France include Eguzon dam
Eguzon dam
The Eguzon dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Creuse River in central France. Construction took place from 1922 to 1926 and, at the time, was the largest dam in Europe.thumb|right|Eguzon Dam...
, Étang de Soulcem
Étang de Soulcem
Étang de Soulcem is a large artificial lake in the Pyrenees mountains in Ariège, France. It is at an elevation of 1570 m and is used for hydroelectricity, generating 62 GWh/year...
, and Lac de Vouglans
Lac de Vouglans
The Lac de Vouglans is the reservoir of the hydro-electric power station at Vouglans on the River Ain in the département of Jura in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France. The dam, the Barrage de Vouglans is at coordinates .-Description:...
.
Wind farms
On January 25, 2011, President Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
confirmed the tendering process to build France's first five offshore wind farms, expected to have a capacity of 3GW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
and to be sited off the Atlantic coast between Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
and Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
/Le Tréport
Le Tréport
Le Tréport is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Dieppe at the junction of the D940, the D78 and the D1015 roads...
. Tender documents were to be sent out on April 1, with the winning bid announced in early 2012. A second round of bidding to provide a further 3GW of capacity is expected in 2012.