Give Clean Energy a chance: stop dirty electricity dumping

Greenpeace has called on the EU Energy Council to take urgent action at their meeting today against the dumping practices of the French state-owned utility EdF on the European electricity market before full liberalisation takes place. The massive cross-subsidies paid by French consumers and taxpayers for the export of EdF's electricity from nuclear and coal plants is favouring dirty electricity production at the cost of renewable sources.

The Greenpeace demand is backed by a new report from INESTENE (1) on the impacts of dumping dirty French electricity on the wider EU market.

The report shows that EdF is exporting some 70 billion kWhs/year to the rest of Europe. The report estimates the annual subsidy of the French consumers and taxpayers for this massive export of electricity at 740-6000 million Euros. Greenpeace says that allowing this subsidy to exist creates a distortion of the market.

"It is essential that if clean energy is to compete in the market place dirty subsidies must be stopped immediately," said Greenpeace Campaigner Jan Vande Putte.

The INESTENE report also highlights the problems posed by the construction of high-tension electricity lines under the EU's Trans-European Network (TEN) project. The cost of such projects is estimated by the study at 24 billion Euros with a public subsidy of up to of 3.5 Billion Euros. This is in contrast with the budget proposed by the Commission for the four-year "Intelligent Energy Europe" programme on renewables and energy efficiency of 215 million euros.

Greenpeace points out that the TEN project contradicts the EU's own policy of encouraging local and alternative forms of energy production by favouring centralised energy. "These new electricity lines from Franc to its neighbours are in nobody's interest except EdF's. They simply have to be scrapped," concluded Vande Putte.

Notes: Full French language report and both English and French summaries are available for download at : www.greenpeace.fr/campagnes/cdp/nucleaire/N021120.php3 1) A Paris based research institute on energy and the environment. Author of the report, Antoine Bonduelle is available for interview on + 33 3 28 40 53 89.