France Energy efficiency report Objectives: o 139 TWh of end-user energy savings in 216 o 345 TWh of lifetime energy savings obligations for energy distributors over -213 Overview - (%/year) Primary intensity (EU=1)¹ 11 - -.8% - CO 2 intensity (EU=1) 67 ++ -2.1% + CO 2 emissions per capita (in tco /cap) 5 + -1.6% + Power generation - (%/year) Efficiency of thermal power plants (in %) 33 - -.3% -- Rate of electricity T&D losses (in %) 6 + -1.2% - CO 2 emissions per kwh generated (in gco /kwh) 74 ++ -.5% - Industry - (%/year) Energy intensity (EU=1) 97 + -2.1% - Share of industrial CHP in industrial consumption (in %) 11 -- 3.4% - Unit consumption of steel (in toe/t).37-1.3% -- ++ Among best countries + Better than the EU average 1 - Below the EU average 1 --Among countries with the lowest performances Latest update: April 212 1 The European Union, as the best performing region, is used as the benchmark.
1. Overview 1.1. Policies: 9% energy savings target for -216 France has adopted a National Energy Efficiency Action Plan -216 (NEEAP), which sets an energy savings target of at least 9 percent between and 216, ie 139 TWh (12 Mtoe) in buildings, transport and small industries (excluding sectors under ETS). The energy law (POPE law) aims to reduce final energy intensity by 2 percent/year by 215 and by 2.5 percent/year between 215 and 23. It also implements energy saving obligations for energy utilities, known as the energy savings certificate scheme. This scheme set the volume of energy savings for energy companies over a first period from July until July at 54 TWh (lifetime cumulative savings), split according to energy source. At the end of the first period the volume of certificates exceeded the target and amounted to 65 TWh. Most of the certificates were obtained in residential buildings (above 85 percent). A second period of white certificates was approved in December and extended to the transport sector. The target is to reach 345 TWh (lifetime cumulated) over -213. In the framework of the Finance Law, the Government reinforced the tax credit system, which can go up to 5 percent, to support the diffusion of energy efficiency materials. 1.2. Energy consumption trends: higher than EU average France has one of the highest levels of energy consumption in the European Union. In France s total consumption per capita was 4.2 toe, which is 25 percent above the European average. Over the period - total energy consumption increased by.9 percent/year. However, in it decreased by 5 percent and, in, returned to its level. Nuclear power is the principal energy source, with a stable share of over 4 percent of total consumption. Figure 1: Energy consumption trends by sector 3 25 Other Industry Power generation 2 Mtoe 15 1 5 The share of the power sector in energy consumption is almost stable at around 3 percent. The share of industry fell from 22 percent in to 16 percent in (including non-energy uses). The country s electricity consumption per capita is significantly higher than the European average due to the high penetration of electric heating (7,6 kwh in, compared with 5,85 kwh in the EU). The share of electricity in energy consumption is increasing steadily and reached 23 percent in (compared with 18 percent in ). The country s electricity demand has been increasing relatively rapidly: almost 2 percent/year on average since and over 1 percent/year since. It dropped by 2 percent in, with a significant reduction of power consumption in the industrial sector. France Country reports 2
Figure 2: Electricity consumption trends by sector 6 5 Industry Others 4 TWh 3 2 1 1.3. Energy efficiency trends: reductions achieved since Total energy consumption per unit of GDP (primary energy intensity), measured at purchasing power parity, is 1 percent higher than the EU average. This total energy intensity has decreased at a slower pace than in the EU as a whole, at.7 percent/year compared with 1.6 percent/year for the EU between and. Industry contributed about 6 percent of that decrease through a sharp drop in its energy consumption. Figure 3: Energy efficiency trends.% - - -.2% %/year -.4% -.6% -.8% -1.% Total Power generation Industry France Country reports 3
2. Power generation: low efficiency rates in power generation The efficiency of the power sector has decreased since and stood at 36 percent in. The ratio is driven by the major role played by nuclear energy, which has the lowest power generation efficiency rate. Figure 4: Efficiency of power generation Figure 5: Thermal electricity capacity, by technology 45 4 35 3 % 25 2 15 Total power generation Thermal power plants GW 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 Steam Gas turbines Combined cycles 1 The rate of transmission and distribution losses (T&D) in the French grid is just below 7 percent of the distributed volumes, ie slightly above the EU average. These losses have decreased slightly over time (8 percent in ). Figure 6: Electric T&D losses 9 8 7 % 6 5 4 3 France Country reports 4
3. Industry 3.1. Policies: EU Emission Trading Scheme as main driver of improvements The main driver of energy efficiency improvements is the EU Emission Trading Scheme that sets CO 2 quotas in energy-intensive branches. Energy audits in industry are subsidized at rates between 5 percent and 7 percent depending on the type of audit. Combined heat and power generation is supported through a feed-in tariff of between 6.1 euro cents/kwh and 9.15 euro cents/kwh (8.5-12.7 US dollar cents/kwh), depending on factors including capacity, the natural gas price or even the number of operating hours. 3.2. Energy consumption trends: increase in electricity and natural gas demand Energy consumption in industry increased at a moderate pace between and (.8 percent/year), but has decreased by 2.3 percent/year since then. In, industrial energy consumption was impacted by the global economic downturn and dropped by 9 percent. Figure 7: Trends in industrial energy consumption 45 4 35 3 Mtoe 25 2 15 1 5 The share of fossil fuels in the sector s energy consumption has fallen over time, from around 7 percent in to 6 percent in. The use of electricity to meet industrial energy needs has increased since, from 28 percent to 35 percent in. Biomass is also developing and reached 8 percent of the total in. The use of coal has been scaled down from 25 percent to less than 18 percent of the total in. In turn, the share of natural gas has developed and accounted for half of the fossil fuels used in industry in (3 percent of the total). The share of energy-intensive industries has fallen slightly since, from 6 percent of the sector s consumption to below 55 percent in. Consumption by the steel industry in particular fell from 23 percent in to 16 percent in. The shares of the chemical and paper industries fell slightly over the period, whereas energy consumption in the non-metallic minerals sector remained stable. France Country reports 5
Figure 8: Energy consumption of industry, by source Figure 9: Energy consumption of industry, by branch 1% 1% 9% 9% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% % Biomass Heat Electricity Gas Oil Coal/Lignite 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% % Other Paper Non metallic minerals Chemical Steel 3.3. Energy intensity trends: noticeable energy intensity reductions Between and, the energy consumption per unit of industrial value added decreased by 1.8 percent/year. A significant reduction in energy consumption per unit of value added was seen in the chemical industry (above 4 percent/year). In the steel industry the energy used per ton of steel decreased by 1 percent/year over the period -, while the energy required per ton of paper decreased by 1.9 percent/year. Energy efficiency in the cement industry did not improve since the energy consumption per ton of cement increased slightly. Figure 1: Trends in the energy intensity of industrial branches* 2% Total* Steel Chemical Cement Paper %/year 1% % -1% -2% -3% -4% - - -5% *Including construction and mining, Odyssee The share of CHP in industrial consumption stood at 11 percent in, ie far below the average of European countries. France Country reports 6
Figure 11: Share of industrial CHP in industrial consumption 12% 1% 8% 6% 4% 2% % The sector s energy intensity was not only influenced by energy efficiency improvements but also by changes in the structure of the industrial value added. When calculated at constant structure, the energy intensity of manufacturing has decreased to a lesser extent, by.6 percent/year, compared with 1.4 percent/year for the actual value. The difference is due to structural changes in industry, which tend toward a growing share of machinery and transport equipment, ie the branch with the lowest energy intensity when measuring value added in the manufacturing industry. The structural effect explains 6 percent of the total variation over the period - and 7 percent over -. Figure 12: Trends in the energy intensity of manufacturing and structural effect.% -.2% - - -.4% -.6% %/year -.8% -1.% -1.2% -1.4% -1.6% Real variation Change at constant structure Structural effect, Odyssee France Country reports 7