EDF officially announces for the first time when the Flamanville EPR can finally be put into service.
We finally seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel in the EPR technology file. Already used in China at the Taishan power plant since 2018, it has also been in operation since 2023 in Europe, in Finland, with the Olkiluoto 3 reactor. And a third step could be taken from next year, with this times the commissioning… of the Flamanville EPR!
A start in mid-2024?
It was certainly a much-awaited moment on the EDF side. After many years of controversy, the energy company has reached the end of the EPR journey. Because the French electricity giant has just provided information on the commissioning of the Flamanville EPR on its regulatory page, which now makes it official information.
We thus learn “ fuel loading is planned for March 2024 » at the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor, before “ the first coupling, [qui] is planned for mid-2024. » On this date, the EPR will finally be able to produce electricity for the French!
A first production volume of 14 TWh
After it is put into operation, the reactor will undergo batteries of tests which will notably require changing the power levels, and also carrying out interruptions. Despite this soft launch, the reactor is expected to produce 14 TWh of electricity between mid-2024 and 2026, when a first maintenance shutdown is scheduled.
EDF aims to reach 400 TWh of electricity produced by 2030, while for 2022, a dark year for the group, its production had fallen to 279 TWh. The Flamanville 3 EPR should be able to help EDF reach this level. As a reminder, its construction began in 2007. Since then, the cost of the project has constantly been revised upwards, while its commissioning has been postponed many times.
Source : BFM TV
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