France needs extra investment in electric generating capacity

London (Platts)--11Jul2006

France needs additional investment in electric generating capacity by 2015
despite the anticipated gain of 16-19 terawatt-hours of annual supply when the
Eurodif gaseous diffusion enrichment plant is retired around 2012, French
industry minister Francois Loos said July 10. Loos spoke to journalists after
promulgating the country's second Pluriannual Investment Plan, or PPI, for
electricity supply/demand, covering the decade 2005-2015. The plan foresees
the need for 5.2 gigawatts of additional capacity, half in semi-baseload and
half in peaking capacity, which could cost between Eur 1 billion and Eur 5
billion (between US$1.3 billion and $6.4 billion), he said. The analysis
underpinning the plan showed that Electricite de France's Flamanville-3 EPR,
expected to come online in 2012, will be competitive at a capacity factor of
only 57% but will likely operate more than 7,000 hours a year, exceeding a
capacity factor of 80%, because reaching the target for renewables'
contribution in 2015 (21% of total supply) will be very difficult.

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