Yellow Tomorrow

Philippe Knoche: Indeed, power consumption will increase considerably. Most global studies estimate a doubling or even tripling of demand by 2050. That’s a lot. Meanwhile, electrification is gaining momentum. For example, there are 10 million electric cars on the road worldwide, which could increase to more than 100 million by 2030. This will be an entirely different world.

Max Fressonnet: After that, the question is: What is the best electricity mix to provide decarbonized electricity that meets the increase in this demand? The RTE report points out that the mixed nuclear and renewable scenarios are the most efficient. However, it is conceivable for electricity to be generated solely from renewable sources, though that approach has its challenges with cost and land use.

Philippe Knoche: Yes, if we want to meet the challenges of climate change, energy sovereignty, surging electricity demand and competitiveness, we will need both nuclear energy and renewables. The RTE report shows that the scenarios with a nuclear/ renewable mix cost up to €20 billion per year less than the 100% renewables scenario. This is not insignificant. These are also the most reliable and environmentally friendly scenarios.

Max Fressonnet: Hasn’t the closure of nuclear energy facilities for maintenance come at the worst possible time? The RTE scenario with the largest nuclear segment envisions extended lifetimes of up to 60 years. Is that possible?

Philippe Knoche: Nuclear energy sites are closely monitored technological facilities. Safety must always be verified and prioritized, and all of the equipment except for the reactor vessel itself can be replaced. If there are no safety risks, then these facilities should be kept in operation for a lifetime of 60 years or more. In the United States, reactors have received extended licenses to operate for up to 80 years.

Nuclear energy & climate

Max Fressonnet: Nuclear energy is one of the solutions for decarbonizing energy production, which is the primary source of global CO₂ emissions. I also see it as a solution for supporting the significant increase in electricity consumption, which will be amplified by the reindustrialization of France.

Philippe Knoche: Nuclear energy is one of the least CO₂ emitting sources of power generation and is comparable to wind power. Nuclear energy generates 4 times less emissions than solar power, 40 times less than gas and 70 times less than coal. It is an energy that is essential to energy transition and the carbon neutrality objective. Many expert reports (RTE, IPCC, IEA, etc.) acknowledge that nuclear energy is an important component of the energy mix for achieving the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 1.5°C.

Max Fressonnet: Is reducing greenhouse gases sufficient to fight climate change? Shouldn’t we also be tackling the issues of energy efficiency and the reduction of its consumption?

Philippe Knoche: You have a point about energy efficiency. In France, 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. And we have 5 million housing units that are poorly insulated and in need of renovation. There is a strong need to decarbonize housing and reduce its energy consumption. It requires that we give up certain habits. These are issues of comfort that are difficult to talk about, but we can, through our individual and corporate behaviors, decide to lower our heating temperature in winter by one or two degrees. From an industrial standpoint, thought is being given not only to having more efficient processes, but also to using fewer raw materials and more recycling, which will cause us to reduce our energy consumption.

Max Fressonnet: There is another issue that has not received as much attention as global warming, namely the collapse of biodiversity and its consequences. This includes the construction of man-made spaces in place of natural spaces and the release of chemicals into the environment.

Philippe Knoche: The impact on biodiversity is analyzed throughout the life cycle of a facility, whether for fossil fuels, renewables or nuclear energy. The density of nuclear energy means that a nuclear energy facility takes up 100 to 300 times less space than the equivalent renewable energy facility. The right balance must be found. In terms of controlling chemical and radioactive discharges, we seek to prevent our activities from having a significant impact by regularly monitoring the environment and biodiversity around our sites. We perform more than 100,000 measurements and analyses each year using about 1,000 sampling points.