France is no longer the main net exporter of electricity in Europe. In the first half of 2022, France, whose nuclear capabilities are operating at a historically low level, was doubled by Sweden, energy data analyst EnAppSys reports on Wednesday.
During this first half of 2022, Sweden’s total net exports reached 16 TWh, compared to 13.8 TWh last year in the same period. Among its best European customers are Finland (7 TWh) and Denmark (4 TWh).
But this advance of the Nordic country in the European electricity market is mainly linked to the tricolor crash. While its net exports reached 21.5 TWh last year, over the same period France now imports more electricity than it exports. Its balance, now in deficit, reaches 2.5 TWh.
The French nuclear sector in difficulty
In 2022, the French nuclear industry was indeed affected by unprecedented corrosion and maintenance problems that considerably slowed down its production. More recently, repeated heat waves have forced some power plants to slow down.
By rejecting the water they use to cool their circuits, some sites exceed the authorized thresholds for heating neighboring watercourses established by environmental protection regulations. This led to a drop in its production to limit these cost overruns.
Germany, second net exporter in Europe
Germany, for its part, knew how to take advantage of the situation, becoming the second largest net exporter in Europe, only behind Sweden. In total, the country sold 15.4 TWh more electricity than it bought in the first half of 2022. This is double Germany’s net exports recorded last year, during the same period.
The increase in its exports is explained in part by the increase in French demand and France’s need to obtain more electricity from abroad. On Wednesday, the hexagonal nuclear power plants were only operating at half of their total electricity production capacity, Reuters recalls.
Source: BFM TV
