Energy

In France, marine and coastal comes principally from electricity generation. Power plants located ashore are conventional thermal plants, nuclear plants and wind turbines. The choice of an electricity generation site depends on its capacity for colling and diluting effluents discharged by the plant. The natural, stable cold reservoir provided by the sea makes coastal access hightly attractive for building nuclear and thermal power plants. This location also enables fuel supply costs to be lowered. Finally, the sea provides power, as shown by tidal power plants in estuaries, and projects for wind farms and marine current turbines off our shores.

Coastal thermal and nuclear plants

The large power plants on the coast supply a significant part of installed power in metropolitan France, in particular slightly more than 30% of total nuclear power generation.

Site Generating units Net power (MW) Energy Source Operation start Employment7
Dunkirk (harbour) 1 et 2 2 x 400 Combined Cycle Gas turbine 2005 35
Gravelines (outer harbour of Dunkirk)1 1, 2, 3 3 x 910 Nuclear 1980 1635
4 910 Nuclear 1981
5 910 Nuclear 1984
6 910 Nuclear 1985
Penly (East English Channel)2 1 1330 Nuclear 1990 634
2 1330 Nuclear 1992
Paluel (East Channel) 1 et 2 2 x 1330 Nuclear 1984 1250
3 1330 Nuclear 1985
4 1330 Nuclear 1986
Le Havre (harbour)3 1 250 Coal 1968 340
2 600 Coal 1969
4 600 Coal 1983
Flamanville (West Channel)4 1 1300 Nuclear 1985 671
2 1300 Nuclear 1986
Rance estuary 240 Tidal plant 1966 28
Cordemais (Loire estuary)5 1 490 Coal 1970 458
2 et 3 2 x 685 Fuel 1976
4 580 Coal 1983
5 inactive Coal 1984
Le Blayais (Gironde) 1 900 Nuclear 1981 1351
2 900 Nuclear 1982
3 et 4 2 x 900 Nuclear 1983
Martigues6 1 250 Fuel 1971 116
Total 25320 6518
1. Footprint: 150 ha, two thirds of which were reclaimed from the sea.
2. Project, officially confirmed in January 2009, to build a 1,650 MW European Pressurised reactor (EPR) with commissioning scheduled for 2017. Public inquiry deferred to 2012 given government's requirements for additional safety information after Fukushima.
3. Generation unit n°3 decommissioned. Project to build two coal-fired plants of 860 MW and 800 MW, to be operational in 2012-2013.
4. EPR being built; commissioning foreseen for 2016.
5. Inactive unit n°5 of 580 MW.
6. Footprint: 52 ha. Initially, 4 units of 250 MW each. Unit n°1 commissioned in 1971, still operational. Unit n°4 commissioned in 1974, withdrawn from operation since 1985. Units n°2 and 3 commissioned in 1972 and 1973, out of service since 2009 and 2010; to be replaced by two combined cycle gas turbines of 465 MW each with an announced 25-year life span; commissioning announced for 2011-2012; announced permanent staff of around 55 (source: EDF). Announced cost of EUR 470 million for 900 jobs created during construction.
7. Excluding service providers on sites.
Sources: EDF French electricity utility, ASN Nuclear Safety Authority, CLI

Renewable marine energy: wind turbines

Wind energy was mainly European until 2006; in 2008, comparable amounts were invested in Europe, North America and Asia (China and India). Europe is a world pioneer for offshore projects. To date, those were launched in North Europe (UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden). Other stakeholders are appearing (Spain, Ireland, Finland, France, Italy, Poland). En France, the first offshore wind farm project has been approved for construction in northern France. There are also offshore projects outside of Europe, notably in China (7 GW).

Source: EWEA European Wind Energy Association
    Offshore wind farms projects in France
  • Objective for 2020: offshore wind energy and other marines energy sources will account for 3.5% of domestic electricity consumption. This requires a 6 GW offshore wind capacity, i.e. around 1,200 turbines.
  • Project for a wind farm at 6.5 km off the coast of Upper Normandy. 21 units, 105 MW. Commissioning annouced for 2012.
  • First call for tender in July 2011, for a 3 GW offshore capacity, i.e. 500 to 600 units. Selection of tenders in April 2012. Units to be authorized for building from 2015. The selected offshore zones are:
    • Fécamp (Upper Normandy), 88 sq km, 498 MW
    • Courseulles-sur-mer (Lower Normandy), 77 sq km, 450 MW
    • Saint-Brieuc (Brittany), 180 sq km, 500 MW
    • Saint-Nazaire (Loire esturay, Pays de la Loire region), 78 sq km, 480 MW.
  • A second call for tender has been announced for the second half of 2012, for another 3 GW installed capacity, in addition to the site of Le Treport (Upper Normandy) which has not been awarded in April.

Other marine energy technologies (brief overview)

Other technologies are less mature than wind power and are being tested at sea.
In France :
  • Marine current turbines: a turbine was deployed in August 2011, which would be the first of the four units of EDF's farm off the coast of Paimpol-Brehat in Brittany, in co-operation with DCNS, using the technology of Open Hydro (Ireland). Announced installed capacity of the farm: 2 MW.
Abroad:
  • Marine current turbines: a small number of projects are announced in en Europe; they are mainly British, off the coasts of Scotland and Northern Ireland (British waters account for 75% of the natural current energy potential in Europe).
  • Wave energy: several offshore pilots are being tested or announced in UK (e.g. Pelamis deployed and tested in a zone off the Orkney Islands), Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Australia, USA.
  • Tidal energy plants: after the first large plant - in the Rance estuary at the border of Brittany and Normandy (240 MW) in 1966 - the technology was used for a limited number of projects, the most recent of which being the only one of important size:
    • Annapolis Royal, Canada, Nova-Scotia, 20 MW, commissioned in 1984,
    • Jiangxia plant, China, 3.2 MW, commissioned in 1985,
    • plant of lake Sihwa, South Korea, 254 MW, commissioned in 2011.
    There are many new projects, often of modest size, though some are especially ambitious (1,320 MW announced in Korea).
  • The other marine energy technologies (ocean thermal energy conversion, osmotic power) have not yet reached the stage of pilot project testing at sea.