GOVERNMENT FAVOURS ELECTRIC OVER GAS
Today, we are almost certain that electric will indeed take over. The government has just published its calculation parameters...
It was foreseeable: it had been a long time – one year – that the government had hinted that electric heating would take precedence over gas for newbuilds: a choice that totally opposes the 2012 environmental regulation, which favoured gas.
Today, we are almost certain that electric will indeed take over. The government has just published its calculation parameters. The ministries state that a “conversion coefficient between primary energy and final energy for electricity of 2.3 will be used” (against 2.58 currently). These coefficients indicate the electricity production mix in France for the next 50 years (the renewable energy coefficient is 1 while nuclear and thermal have a coefficient of 3).
With a view to France’s carbon neutrality in 2050, the government is counting on strong actions to reach this goal, measures condemned by the gas industry: “By 2030, we are fairly certain that in winter, we will still have gas-fired power stations producing electricity. Nuclear as well as renewable sources won’t do the job” declares Patrick Corbin, president of the French Gas Association (AFG). Furthermore, the gas industry adds that French and imported electricity is largely carbon-intensive.
The government, however, is not backing down, and even if French electricity supply is likely to increase over the coming winters, the measure is nonetheless being seriously considered. France wants to reduce its fossil fuel consumption at all costs in order to follow its carbon neutrality programme… It remains to be seen whether the gas industry’s arguments will convince the State or whether the environmental regulation in favour of electric heating will actually be implemented.
