EDF - Our strategy

In EDF’s energy mix, fossil-fired power plants are used to supplement nuclear power plants, which supply the base load and meet daily, recurrent demand.

Fossil-fired plants account for 3.6% of EDF’s annual power generation in France. Their use allows EDF to adapt rapidly to fluctuations in energy demand and meet requirements during periods of high demand, which are increasingly frequent and extensive.

Since electricity cannot be stored, EDF adapts its generation capacity in real time to match consumption. Fossil-fired energy allows sudden variations in demand to be managed, for example during cold weather snaps (peak power).

• The construction of three combined-cycle gas units to match increased consumption demands. Energy output has been improved and atmospheric emissions reduced. The first units are due to be commissioned between 2011 and 2012
  
• The construction of new combustion turbine generators, used occasionally to adapt to sharp spikes in demand. They can be started up in a matter of minutes
  
• The overhaul of the most powerful coal-fired plants. Ten to fifteen years ahead of time, they are already equipped with top-of-the-range cleaning systems
  
• Bringing four oil-fired generation units back into service to cover peak load. This is a worldwide first due to the output (2,600 MW) and deadline set (three years). 
  

At international level, EDF continues to invest in gas power plants in the United Kingdom, with three combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units under construction in West Burton (1,311 MW), and in the Netherlands, where the SLOE2 CCG unit has been operational since 2009.

Edison, an EDF Group affiliate, undertook a major development program between 2001 and 2007, with the commissioning of eight CCGT units (for a total of 7,000 MW with Edipower) in Italy, and the creation of a joint company with Hellenic Petroleum in Greece to operate a CCGT unit of 400 MW and to develop a second. 

EDF is continuing its R&D program to further reduce CO₂ emissions in its fossil-fired plants. We are studying the development in Europe of the latest generation coal-fired plants (‘supercritical’ or ‘ultra supercritical’ plants), which are more efficient in terms of output and environmental performance. In Germany, for example, construction of EnBW’s ‘RDK8’ supercritical coal-fired plant has begun in Karlsruhe.

Furthermore, we are continuing our research to optimize technology for capturing and storing CO₂ in order to reduce atmospheric emissions or even eliminate them completely.