The French power transmission system operator RTE has released a new report that refines its projections for 2035, forecasting an annual electricity consumption of between 580 and 640 TWh in 2035 (between +1.8%/year and +2.6%/year over 2022-2035), with a production of between 640 and 700 TWh, in the most favourable scenario, known as "A". In this path towards carbon neutrality, this "A" decarbonisation scenario will require simultaneously mobilizing four levers, including energy efficiency, sufficiency, renewable energies and nuclear.
An increase in the volume of thermal renovations in buildings would allow the country to save between 75 and 100 TWh/year. In addition, sufficiency based on voluntary energy saving measures is expected to lower demand by around 25 TWh in 2035. Initially, RTE is also counting on an acceleration of renewables, targeting an annual renewable electricity production of between 270 TWh and 320 TWh (between +6.4%/year and +7.8%/year). Concerning nuclear, RTE is forecasting an average annual production of 360 TWh by 2035 by maximising the current fleet of reactors.