Electricity Generation and Renewables under Carbon Mitigation Policies

Abstract

Following the European Council decision of March 2007, the European Union's common climate protection target for 2020 is a 20% reduction in GHG emissions. In order to acknowledge the related adjustments, opportunities and disadvantages for electricity generation associated with the design of energy policy goals, this paper explores different carbon mitigation policies over the next decades in the French case. Policies relying on CO2 emission reductions of 20% by 2020, followed with 50% by 2050, and combined with reductions in energy consumption, are discussed using long-term planning modelling. The results show a complex impact of mitigation policies on the future electricity mix and technologies. Focusing on electricity generation, we assess its interaction with renewable sources in the "French model" framework, whereby the country's unique energy policy has led it to rely on the highest nuclear power share in the world.