The occasional restart of the Cordemais coal-fired power plant (Loire-Atlantique) to cope with the cold wave was blocked by employees, who denounce the closure of their site announced by EDF and the lack of guarantees for its future, we learned Thursday by consistent sources. According to EDF, “the two units of the Cordemais plant were scheduled to come into operation this weekend for economic reasons, due to the cold wave expected in France”, but “the current social movement has not allowed operations to begin” .
EDF, of which the French State is the sole shareholder, announced at the end of September the abandonment of the Ecocombust project aimed at converting the Cordemais power plant into biomass, which will therefore stop producing electricity in 2027.
Nuclear power plant pipes
“After two months without a response to the questions from the construction workers, the management decided to force the units to start up. (…) The staff assembly unanimously responded STOP!”, write the construction unions. in a press release. (CGT, FO, CFE-CGC). The staff “decided that until further notice no gram of coal will be consumed to produce electricity,” the statement insists, asking management to “come to its senses” and propose “credible elements for a future industrial facility at the Cordemais site.” .
Emmanuel Macron wanted Cordemais, which accounts for 500 jobs locally (including 340 direct jobs), to be converted to biomass to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The power plant was to use pellets made from wood waste, but EDF ultimately decided that this project was not profitable. The activity that EDF intends to replace the plant, the manufacturing of tubes for nuclear power plants on behalf of its subsidiary Framatome, would represent only a hundred jobs, and in the long term it will amount to 200.
“Less than 0.1% of production”
Questioned by AFP, EDF underlines that the Cordemais coal-fired power plant, the only one left in France along with that of Saint-Avold (Moselle) operated by GazelEnergie, “could be forced to occasionally produce electricity during periods of highest consumption for a few dozen to hundreds of hours a year at most. In 2023, Cordemais represented “less than 0.1% of French electricity production.” According to EDF, “consultations are underway.” with the Cordemais union organizations.”
Source: BFM TV
