The banner is displayed as a welcome note, white on blue: “Energy is a common good. ” In the background, behind special capitals, two tall coal-fired power stations. Majority trade union organization in the electricity and gas branch, the CGT has chosen Cordemais (Loire-Atlantique) to make its voice heard. “Progressive energy agenda”, Thursday September 16 in the morning. With the intention of including it in the debate of the presidential election of 2022, then the legislative ones.
“Industry can evolve by maintaining or even developing jobs, while preserving the environment”, says the secretary general of the confederation, Philippe Martinez. This is not the first time that he has visited the thermal power station on the banks of the Loire. Neither the last, he urges. The place “Is one of these sites, these fights which show that the industry has a future in our country, provided that the employees get involved”. Around him, some 200 to 300 activists, according to estimates.
Still in operation to ensure the balance of the electricity network in Brittany, the Cordemais site must close at the earliest in 2024, at the latest in 2026. For Gardanne (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Saint-Avold (Moselle), this will be as early as 2022, according to the government’s initial roadmap. In the last three coal-fired power stations in the country, the end of this highly polluting fuel is becoming clearer. But the rest, for employees and for land, much less …
Some are campaigning for the reconversion of the Cordemais power plant. Their project, Ecocombust, proposes to replace coal with biomass
For at least five years, some of them have been campaigning for the reconversion of the Cordemais power plant (more than 300 EDF employees, in addition to a hundred service providers). Their project, Ecocombust, proposes to replace coal with biomass. The production of electricity from waste wood would reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. Patented project but finally rejected by the management of the company in July. Arguments invoked: the withdrawal of an investor, Suez, and the fear of a lack of profitability.
Cégétistes representatives still believe in it. Without citing him, they say they have made contact with an industrialist to make up for Suez’s defection. For Sébastien Menesplier, Secretary General of the National Federation of Mines and Energy CGT, “The Ecocombust project is part of the future of the public energy service, it takes on its full meaning in the electricity mix that we carry”. A mix of nuclear and renewable energies. Thursday, two deputies from the North made the trip to express the support of their political parties. Alain Bruneel, for the French Communist Party, and Adrien Quatennens, former EDF customer advisor, now with his blue-white-red elected official scarf, for rebellious France.
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