Enedis obtains €800m from the EIB to connect renewable energies and charging stations

FRANCE. On Thursday 19 May 2022, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced the signing of an €800m loan with EDF. Granted, according to the terms of a press release, "for the energy transition of the electricity distribution network managed by Enedis", it will come, more precisely, to finance the investments of the independent subsidiary of the EDF group. It will be dedicated to the connection of decentralised renewable energies and electric vehicle charging stations in mainland France over the period 2022-2024.

Enedis (38,000 employees) is the manager of public electricity distribution in 95% of France, regardless of the supplier of the 37 million customers in its portfolio. "In total, this amount will partly finance more than 11,465 km of new distribution lines and associated transformation equipment for a total cost of €1,672 million. This loan represents 50% of the amount of these investments over the period 2022-2024," the statement said. "Enedis is effectively pursuing its public service mission contributing to the penetration of electric mobility in the territories and the integration of the growing volume of renewable energies on the electricity distribution network", comments Xavier Girre, EDF Group Executive Director in charge of the Finance Department.

Already, almost 90% of the wind and photovoltaic energy produced in France is integrated into the distribution network managed by Enedis. By the end of 2021, France will have more than 540,000 renewable energy producers (compared to 3,000 in 2015), of which about one third will be self-consumers. By 2028, France should have between one and two million photovoltaic installation sites.
Enedis has connected 50,000 public charging stations, spread over a hundred or so areas equipped with high-powered stations located in condominiums, on roads and on motorways. The company plans to have 80% of condominiums equipped with charging stations by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

"By connecting to its network renewable energies that produce decentralised, low-carbon electricity and electric car charging stations that accelerate the decarbonisation of transport, these investments by Enedis are helping to thoroughly renew France's energy distribution infrastructure and promote new uses for cars," emphasises Ambroise Fayolle. For the EIB Vice-President, "the financing of these new uses of the distribution network linked to the energy transition is at the heart of the low-carbon strategy adopted by the European Union's climate bank, whose investment choices are guided above all today by the priority of combating global warming." In 2021, the EIB invested 9.2 bn, of which more than a third (€3.6 bn) was for innovation projects, most of them very closely linked to climate action.

By 2050, electricity is expected to account for 55% of final energy consumption in France.