2022-01-11 12:00:00
THE NEW NUCLEAR FOR FRANCE
N - 10 January 2022 - The French government expects plans for new nuclear reactors should be submitted around 2023 with a target date of 2035-37 for the reactors to go online, Berangere Abba, Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological Transition, said during a parliamentary debate in the Senate on 6 January.
She said the new reactors would be EPR2 models, improved versions of EDF's EPR, which has suffered years of delays and billions of euros of cost overruns on units under construction in France and Finland. Abba said EDF had submitted safety documentation to the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN) for the new model and that the regulator had validated its design concept.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in early November that France was preparing to start construction of new reactors, but as yet few details have been confirmed.
France is currently building one new generation EPR reactor, at unit 3 of the Flamanville NPP, which has encountered multiple setbacks. Previously, the government had said it would not launch any new third-generation EPR reactor projects until Flamanville 3 is completed.
EDF has already submitted a proposal to build six new generation EPR2s for around €50 billion ($56.8bn).
Meanwhile, EDF has extended the shutdown of unit 2 at the Chooz nuclear power plant until 20 April. The reactor was initially due to restart on 23 January, but following inspection EDF detected a generic fault on an emergency cooling circuit. It is the same fault that has been found in two other reactors of the same type at the Civaux. EDF said a repair solution is currently being studied in conjunction with the French nuclear regulator, ASN.
The two Chooz reactors, which were shut down in mid-December are 1450MWe N4 pressurised water reactors — the most powerful operated by EDF. Their shutdown deprived France of nearly 10% of its nuclear capacity in the middle of winter leading to a surge in electricity prices in wholesale markets in mid-December, when these were already breaking records.
In order to limit the increase for households and businesses, the government is discussing with EDF an increase in the volumes of nuclear electricity sold at cost price under the Arenh system, Le Parisien reported. The Regulated Access to Incumbent Nuclear Electricity (Accès Régulé à l’Electricité Nucléaire Historique - Arenh) mechanism was set up to foster competition and allows rival energy suppliers to buy electricity produced by EDF's nuclear plants in France that were commissioned before December 2010.
According to electricity transmission network operator RTE, nuclear represented nearly 70% of electricity production on 6 January. Currently 52 reactors of France’s 56 reactors are on line.
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Earlier:
2022, January, 10, 11:35:00
NUCLEAR & GAS DECARBONISATION
"it is necessary to recognise that the fossil gas and nuclear energy sectors can contribute to the decarbonisation of the Union's economy."
2021, December, 17, 12:30:00
NUCLEAR CLIMATE PROTECTION
Egypt is the second largest economy in Africa and its electricity production is heavily reliant on oil and gas. Mr El-Sisi thanked Mr Grossi for the support the IAEA has given Egypt in its nuclear programme.
2021, December, 6, 12:50:00
FRANCE'S NUCLEAR POWER +10%
The ARENH law (Accès régulé à l'électricité nucléaire historique, 2010) obliges EDF to sell part of its nuclear generation (up to 100 TWh/year, i.e. around a quarter of its production) to alternative suppliers on the wholesale market at a regulated price
2021, December, 6, 12:45:00
FRANCE'S MICRO NUCLEAR
It says its ultra-compact molten salt reactor uses "the untapped potential of used radioactive materials, and thorium, unused mining waste."
2021, December, 1, 15:55:00
FRANCE, IAEA NUCLEAR COOPERATION
France operates 56 nuclear power reactors, which make up over 70% of the country’s electricity generation. It has a smaller per capita carbon footprint than most developed countries. “France is already a world leader in low carbon energy generation, and nuclear energy has a major role to play in that,” Mr Grossi said.
2021, December, 1, 15:35:00
FRANCE'S WIND POWER 1 GW
France plans to grant for an offshore wind project off the coast of Normandy. The project will have a capacity of 1,000 to 1,050 MW and is expected to produce 4.5 TWh/year of electricity.
2021, November, 23, 12:15:00
FRANCE, UAE RENEWABLE ENERGY
"I can confirm to you we will launch new projects on all types of energies especially renewable energy and hydrogen. We clearly want to be hand in hand in the fight against climate change."
