France Turns to Coal as Nuclear Plant Shutdowns Threaten Power Grid

[Peter1469]

The Greens don't like either coal or nuclear. Green policy is giving us more coal.


France Turns to Coal as Nuclear Plant Shutdowns Threaten Power Grid

France expects to exceed self-imposed limits on coal usage to avoid power outages. This comes as nuclear power plants undergo maintenance and there are not enough renewable energy systems to fill the gap.

As important as going green may be for the environment, France now seems to have no choice but to turn back to coal-fired electricity as a quick fix to avoid possible power outages in January and February.
With 17 of the country’s 56 nuclear power plants temporarily shut down for planned and/or emergency maintenance, the French Ministry of the Ecological Transition wants to raise limitations imposed in 2019 on the number of hours its three remaining coal-fired power plants are allowed to operate.


The Ministry of Ecology has published a draft decree allowing the country’s coal-burning electrical plants to operate for about 1,000 hours over the first 2 months of 2022, which is 300 hours more than they would otherwise operate under rules previously agreed to reduce CO₂ emissions.


The decree would compensate for the higher rates of carbon emitted in January and February by lowering coal-burning caps in subsequent months.


French grid operator, Reseau de Transport d’Electricite (RTE), sounded the alarm at a press conference in December during which it warned that renewables may not be effective if temperatures drop unusually low and the wind doesn’t blow enough in January and February.


RTE called the press conference after France’s largest electricity supplier, EDF, was forced to unexpectedly shut down four nuclear reactors for emergency repairs to cracked pipelines in December.


The surprise closures reduced the nation’s nuclear-generating capacity by about 10% at a time when about a dozen other reactors across the country would also be unavailable. However, these maintenance shutdowns had been planned and their losses factored into the system, Reuters reported.


France currently depends on nuclear plants to supply about 70% of its electricity and French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled plans to double down on its use as a transition fuel with promises to invest in small-reactor technology and mass production of hydrogen using nuclear electricity.