France’s energy sector is dominated by fossil fuels and nuclear energy; the latter of which France is the most strenuous supporter and largest producer in Europe. Renewables still accounted for the smallest share of the
in 2022, compared to some 50 percent coming from oil, gas, and coal, and over 35 percent from nuclear fuel.
France’s production of primary energy evolved over the past 20 years, which saw the share of fossil fuels decrease by over 80 percent and that of renewables double.
France during the energy crisis in 2022
As the rest of Europe, France went through an energy crisis in 2022, when gas supply tightened following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and caused fossil fuels and electricity prices to hike up to unprecedented levels. In France, the impact of the crisis was exacerbated by its
dependency on energy imports, to which Russia had contributed a relevant share prior to the conflict. Furthermore, the disruption of the country’s nuclear power generation as a result of corrosion in its reactors, and a decline in hydropower production due to a drought that hit the European continent, added to the destabilization of France’s energy sector. That year, France became a net importer of electricity. The
prices of electricity and
natural gas for households hit 23 and 10 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, respectively, as of the first half of 2023.
One of the country’s ambitions for the next few years is a shift from an energy sector dependent on the international fossil fuel market to one that relies on domestic production of green electricity.
Energy transition in France
The deadline for carbon neutrality is set to 2050 for European Union countries. France’s path to decarbonization has the following main points: a boost in energy efficiency and sobriety, the expansion of the country’s
renewable energy sector, and the growth of
nuclear power. Specifically, France’s ecological plan that was launched in 2023 aims to reduce the
domestic energy consumption by over 15 percent by 2030, compared to 2021 levels. According to the upcoming Multiannual Energy Programme 2024, which takes 2021 as base year, France plans a reduction of its energy consumption by 40 or 50 percent by 2050, to phase out coal by 2027 and fossil fuels by 2050, to increase its electricity production by 10 percent by 2030 and by 55 percent by 2050, and double the low-carbon heat production by 2035. To electrify its economy, France has announced an acceleration of renewable energy plants deployment and the construction of six new nuclear reactors, which should become operational between 2035 and 2042.
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