An enriching meeting. There energy advisory commission met on September 20 in Portet-sur-Garonne, under the chairmanship of Thierry Suaudpresident of the Departmental Energy Union of Haute-Garonne (SDEHG).
This session, devoted to the price of electricity, allowed us to debate the functioning of the electricity market and price forecasts in the coming years with expert energy speakers.
Exponential development of photovoltaics
With increasingly low production costs and significant technological developments, the market for photovoltaic panels is booming globally.
Although the production of photovoltaic cells is mainly Chinese, the sector is also developing in Europe: the European Commission plans to produce in Europe, by 2030, 40% of the photovoltaic panels we use.
A necessary adaptation of the electricity network
The scenarios established by RTE show an increase in the share of electricity in the energy mix, leading to an increase in electricity consumption by 2050.
At the same time, the development of renewable energies and the electrification of many uses (mobility, heating, etc.), require the adaptation of the electricity distribution network.
To enable this energy transition, major network modernization investments are planned by RTE and Enedis.
Electricity storage at the heart of discussions
At any moment, an electricity network must be balanced between production and consumption. A balancing which poses the problem of the difficulty of storing electricity.
Today, several options are being studied, including the use of electric vehicles as storage stations with a capacity estimated at 20 GWh by 2030, or the installation of “containers de batteries” near the source stations.
The question of the price of electricity
According to energy experts, financing the modernization of electricity networks and the construction of the next six nuclear power plants should lead to a increase in the price of electricity.
The final price of electricity in France could evolve in the years to come towards the European average price”, explained André Joffre, president of the DERBI competitiveness cluster.
Furthermore, Thierry Suaud recalled that “whatever the changes in energy prices in the years to come, the best way to avoid them is to limit your energy consumption and have self-consumption strategies”.
>> READ ALSO: Near Toulouse: an energy modernization project for public buildings
