Investing in an energy mix as well as in CO2 capture via reforestation
By choosing to maintain our contract with ENGIE, we are encouraging the nuclear and hydroelectric sectors and are thus contributing to reinforcing the operational safety of production sites.
The investment in the so-called "green" energies allows to enrich the energy mix in renewable energies, but a complementarity in controllable energy is necessary (see our previous post on the subject).
France emits 12 times less CO2/kWh produced that its German neighbour (see study on intermittent electricity), which, despite an uninterrupted developent of wind and solar photovoltaic for fifteen years, still uses almost as much fossil fuel (especially coal, the fuel that emits the most CO2). The examples of Germany and Spain, which have invested massively in intermittent renewable energies and in phasing out nuclear power, show that these choices have had very little effect on reducing the emissions of the energy mix. The main cause is the need for seasonal complementarity, as no technology is currently in place to store a sufficient amount of the surplus production of intermittent renewables energies.
In addition, it would be necessary to triple the number of wind turbines and solar panels to meet the annual consumption needs of the French population by 2050 (projection from the Ademe 2050 visions). This would require the artificialization of 18,500 km2 of land (see Ademe study on the electricity mix), which is almost twice as much as the current road network in metropolitan area. In addition to the impact on biodiversity, this would reduce by 3% the area available for agriculture or reforestation, which is essential for the recapture of CO2.
Finally, according to the special report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climat Change) published in 2018 and base on nearly 6,000 studies on the subject all the scenarios that allow us to meet the objective of limiting global warming to +1.5°C involve an increase in the production of nuclear energy worldwide. This is also what is recommended on a French scale by RTE (Réseau de Transport d'Electricité) in its latest study published in Octobre 2021.
It is for these reasons that ORINOX made the informed and responsible choice, after an in-depth study of numerous alternative offers, to renew its energy contract with EDF and to commit to invest the equivalent of 10% of its energy bills in French reforestation projects.
We believe in the French hydroelectric and nuclear sectors, and we invest in local reforestation to reduce our carbon footprint.
