Revealed: the hidden study that says all France’s electricity can come from renewables by 2050
Mediapart has gained access to a report by the French government’s environment and energy agency which concludes that France’s electricity supply, of which 75% is currently produced by nuclear power, could be entirely provided by renewable energies in 2050. Furthermore, the study found that a 100% reliance on renewables is not only materially and technologically feasible, but that it would also cost relatively little more than the electricity supply in which nuclear power plays a key part. The study was due to be made public this month, but its publication has now been inexplicably postponed until after the summer, and after key energy strategy decisions are to be taken by the government. In this report by Christophe Gueugneau and Jade Lindgaard, Mediapart presents the study in its entirety and highlights the key findings.
NextNext week, the French environment and energy agency ADEME, a government body led by the ministries of the environment and that of research, is to hold a two-day conference in Paris to discuss the potential future role of renewable energy in electricity production in France. The April 14th-15th conference, entitled ‘40% of renewable electricity by 2050: is France ready?’ was originally planned to discuss a far more radical proposition – that of a 100% reliance on renewables for all of France’s electricity supply.
