2024-05-17 17:20:38
That was yesterday… In 2022, whereas Europe was already weaning itself off Russian gasoline, France feared operating out of electrical energy, sixteen of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors had been affected by an unexpected phenomenon of corrosion of sure circuits. So, RTE, the top of the French electrical energy system, are inspired to scale back consumption. And even thought of cuts.
Now, at occasions, and increasingly typically, the scenario is the other. We produce an excessive amount of electrical energy in France and Europe. A current instance: on the weekend of 13 and 14 April, EDF shut down six reactors and decreased the exercise of a dozen others to a minimal. Thus, the facility of the park in use, from 61.4 gigawatts to the theoretical most, was decreased by a 3rd for a number of hours.
For what ? As a result of intervals of low consumption coincide (industrial exercise decreased on weekends and holidays, much less heating if the temperature rises) and excessive manufacturing, when the wind and the solar activate wind generators and photo voltaic panels, increasingly in France and Europe.
So on the wholesale marketplace for electrical energy that was negotiated the day earlier than for the subsequent day (the “spot” market), the worth of electrical energy can turn into… damaging. Saturday 13 April at At 14.00 the megawatt hour was due to this fact “offered” -€55. Which signifies that the electrical energy producers needed to pay this quantity for his or her electrical energy to be absorbed by the grid.
Then again, on a weekday like Friday 17 Might, at 08:00, when demand was excessive in French properties and the photo voltaic panels weren’t but at full capability, the megawatt hour offered for nearly €90.
Exterior the afternoon rush hour?
The phenomenon is just not new, however it’s turning into extra frequent. In France, the variety of hours with damaging electrical energy costs by no means reached twenty till 2020 (12 months of Covid), when it reached 100 hours. However in 2023 it reached 120 hours. And it has already exploded for the reason that starting of 2024.
“The truth that episodes of damaging costs are extra quite a few in France, as is the case all through Europe, is just not an issue in itself,” in response to Mathieu Pierzo, Electrical energy Market Director at RTE. “The damaging worth is a sign given by the market in order that producers can cease producing.”
So the photo voltaic panels are disconnected and the wind generators are restricted, both as a result of the contract with the federal government requires it, or as a result of persevering with to provide turns into too costly for the operators.
As well as, personal traders are creating the fleet of enormous electrical batteries able to storing extra electrical energy produced throughout hours of sunshine for a number of hours, to promote it when costs are extra favorable. Thus, the storage battery fleet in France elevated from lower than 100 MW in 2020 to 700 MW in 2023.
EDF, for its half, is rising its flexibility within the operation of its nuclear fleet and contemplating upkeep or reloading intervals for gas in view of the rise within the manufacturing of renewable vitality, particularly from spring to autumn.
Then again, sure manufacturing can’t be stopped, particularly the manufacturing of photo voltaic panels for people, topic to a purchase order obligation from EDF. This doesn’t pose any technical drawback, RTE assures us, for the reason that surplus circulation finds a purchaser for export.
Nevertheless, Mathieu Pierzo believes that will probably be obligatory “discover methods to develop electrical energy consumption throughout peak manufacturing comparable to the sunniest hours, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. » This for instance “with worth incentives for industrial actions, or manufacturing of hydrogen by water electrolysis, storage of warmth or chilly, and even personal consumption”.
The Power Regulatory Fee (CRE), which has management over a variety of levers for regulating the market and electrical energy costs, has simply requested Enedis (native community supervisor) to work on a reform of off-peak hours, the most affordable in sure subscriptions.
It’s throughout these, that are between and different electricity-intensive units, particularly because of the EcoWatt indicator for carbon-free hours. They may now focus throughout peak manufacturing of photo voltaic panels.
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