In 2019, RTE launched a large study on the evolution of the electricity system entitled “Energy Futures 2050”. This study involves an unprecedented process of consultation and transparency involving interested stakeholders at all stages of scenario construction, until the publication of their full analysis in the fall of 2021.
The main steps in this process include:
- From mid-2019: The launch of the consultation process organized into nine thematic working groups brought together more than a hundred organizations and institutions.
- January 27, 2021: publication of the joint report between RTE and the International Energy Agency, entitled “Conditions and prerequisites in terms of technical feasibility for an electricity system with a high proportion of renewable energies by 2050” . The report defines the technical conditions to be fulfilled and lists the priorities for the rest of the study program;
- from January to June 2021: opening of the public consultation on future scenarios, which includes an initial description of the scenarios and their main variants, the description of the analysis grid that will be applied to them and the main assumptions that will be used in the study. 4,000 responses from institutions, groups or individuals were collected.
- June 8, 2021: publication of the progress report of the study on the evolution of the electricity system entitled “Energy Futures 2050”. This first phase of the study was completed in the first quarter of 2021. It made it possible to determine the main scenarios to be studied according to four axes of analysis: technical, economic, environmental and impact on lifestyles.
Carbon neutrality in 2050: contrasting scenarios under study
This consultation led to the stabilization of the electricity production and consumption scenarios allowing carbon neutrality to be achieved by 2050. These scenarios have common features: the reduction in final energy consumption, the increase in energy consumption. the share of electricity, a strong growth of renewable energies in the production of electricity. On the other hand, they describe contrasting developments for the nuclear power sector as well as for the share, in the long term, of renewable energies in the electricity mix.
Phase II of the study will consist of the analysis of the scenarios as well as of the numerous variants in order to specify the technical, economic and environmental implications as well as on the lifestyles of citizens. The results of the Futurs Energétiques 2050 study will be published in the fall of 2021.
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