The Energy Consultative Commission met on September 20 in Portet-sur-Garonne, under the chairmanship of Thierry Suaud, President of the Haute-Garonne Departmental Energy Union (SDEHG). This session, devoted to the price of electricity, provided an opportunity to discuss the functioning of the electricity market and price forecasts for the coming years with expert energy speakers, including André Joffre, President of the DERBI Competitiveness Cluster.
The meeting was attended in particular by elected representatives of the inter-municipal authorities and communes of Haute-Garonne, as well as representatives of the Departmental Directorate of Territories, the Departmental Council, EDF, Enedis, RTE, energy companies, etc.
The exponential development of photovoltaics
The photovoltaic panel market is booming worldwide with increasingly low production costs and significant technological developments in terms of performance, shapes and colors.
The production of photovoltaic cells is mainly Chinese, however this industrial sector is developing in Europe; the European Commission has set the objective that by 2030, 40% of photovoltaic panels installed in Europe will be produced on European territory.
” In the near future, the cost of a photovoltaic roof should be lower than that of a conventional roof for an equivalent aesthetic result.. », explains André Joffre.
A necessary adaptation of the electrical 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.
The development of renewable energies and the electrification of many uses (mobility, heating, etc.) require the adaptation of the electricity distribution network. Significant investments in network modernization are planned by RTE and Enedis to enable this energy transition.
Storage at the heart of today’s discussions
An electricity network must be balanced at all times between production and consumption, which poses the problem of the difficulty of storing electricity.
Today, several avenues are being studied, including the use of electric vehicles as storage stations with an estimated capacity of 20 GWh by 2030 or the installation of “battery containers” near source stations.
The question of the price of electricity
Financing the modernisation of electricity networks and the construction of the next 6 nuclear power plants should lead to an increase in the price of electricity.
“ The final price of electricity in France could move towards the average European price in the coming years. ” explains André Joffre.
Thierry Suaud reminds us that whatever the changes in energy prices in the years to come, the best way to avoid them is to limit energy consumption and have self-consumption strategies.
>>> To consult the report of this session
