PARIS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- In 2019, France reduced CO2 emissions from the electricity sector by six percent, data released by French power grid RTE showed on Wednesday. The country's electricity consumption also fell to its lowest level in a decade.
"This drop in CO2 emissions can be explained by a marked decline in thermal (power) production from coal fuel as well as increased production of electricity from wind and solar sources," RTE said.
These emissions are "now at a level close to that of 2015, the lowest in five years," it added.
France plans to close its four remaining coal-fired power plants by 2022. The country saw gas-fueled power generation increase by 24 percent, while coal-fueled generation shrunk by 71.9 percent. Power generation from wind rose by 21.2 percent last year and solar production increased by 7.8 percent compared to 2018, it said.
Electricity consumption in France stood at 473 terrawatt hours (TWh) in 2019, down 0.5 percent from 2018. It reached its lowest level in a decade because of "efforts made in terms of energy efficiency and making the economy less dependent on heavy industry."
