Question:

Could you tell us how much of France’s electricity is generated by fossil fuels?

Answer:

Well behind nuclear power, which accounts for nearly 77% of France’s power generation, fossil fuels are used to fuel combustion plants ("conventional" thermal power plants), mostly to produce peak power. In 2007, thermal power generated 10.7% of France’s electricity (544.8 TWh). Coal represented the bulk of this production (39.4%), followed by natural gas (36.6%) – which has made significant gains with the development of cogeneration – and finally fuel oil (8.9%). Thermal power peaked at 15% of total power generation in December 2007, the coldest month of the year, and was down to 6% of total production in August.