In this new report to 2015, RTE confirms the conclusion reached previously in the 2009 study. The security of France’s power supply should be guaranteed until 2013, thanks to the planned development of new generating facilities. However, vigilance is needed with regard to peak demand levels during periods of cold weather, which continue to rise rapidly.
By 2015, RTE estimates electricity demand will be 506 TWh (a reduction of 10 TWh compared with the forecast previously established due to the drop in French consumption observed in 2009).
The prospects for the development of PV are now thought to be higher than the previous forecasts established in 2009
(with 3,000 MW of installed capacity now expected by 2015, compared with 1,400 MW previously). The cycle of investment in thermal generation seems to be slowing, with uncertainty surrounding the profitability of projects. By 2015, the commissioning of combined cycle gas plants currently under construction and the EPR reactor at Flamanville will compensate for the planned closure of some of the country's coal-fired facilities and the likely erosion of the CHP fleet. Both in France and across Europe, EU environmental standards will mean the closure of a sizeable number of the oldest thermal plants by 2015.