Lhe coal-fired power station in Saint-Avold (Moselle) should restart next winter “as a precaution, given the Ukrainian situation” and tensions on the energy market. “We keep the possibility of being able to operate the Saint-Avold power plant for a few more hours if we need it next winter,” said the Ministry of Energy Transition, confirming information from RTL, Sunday June 26.
The decision is not a complete surprise. The government had not ruled out, when the plant was closed on March 31, restarting it punctually to secure the country’s electricity supply given the conflict in Ukraine and the setbacks encountered by EDF’s nuclear fleet. . This restart “is part of the closure plan”, reiterated the ministry, which specifies that Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to close all coal-fired power plants in France “remains unchanged”. “We would remain, in any case, below 1% of electricity produced by coal”, assures the ministry, “and no Russian coal would be used”.
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Environmental rewards
Consequently, a decree will be put out for consultation to organize this possibility of operation next winter. It will include environmental compensation because this restart must be neutral for the environment, with the operator committing to reforestation projects, for example. The government also plans to include “legislative adjustments” this summer in the purchasing power bill so that the social plan concerning the plant is not cancelled, “which shows the government’s determination to definitively close this plant in coal “. The power of this unit is 0.5 GW, or half a nuclear reactor, or roughly a quarter of the power of the Fessenheim power plant, closed nearly two years ago.
When it closed, 87 employees were still working in the Émile Huchet plant. Half have since retired. To run the plant, around 70 people are needed, according to its director Philippe Lenglart, who told Agence France-Presse in March that he intended to recall former employees rather than recruit if necessary this winter. There is only one other coal-fired power station still open in France, in Cordemais, in Loire-Atlantique. Emmanuel Macron had promised to close these last coal-fired power stations by 2022, which can be easily mobilized to produce electricity if needed, but also very emitting CO2.
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