EDF announced on Monday May 13 for the first time “the signing of green bank loans” dedicated to financing the maintenance and extension of the life of its existing nuclear fleet, for an amount of “approximately 5, 8 billion euros.
These loans, the repayment of which will be spread over a period of three to five years, “were concluded with major international banks including BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING, Natixis CIB, Société Générale, Wells Fargo”, detailed EDF in a press release.
This is “the first time” that EDF has taken out “green loans”, a category which meets a European classification, to finance its nuclear activities, a spokesperson said. AFP. The funds will make it possible to finance “investments in existing nuclear reactors in France as part of the extension of their lifespan”, which EDF wishes to extend to 60 years, or even more.
Sustainable economic activities
These investments appear in EDF’s “Green Financing Framework”, a framework defining the activities of the French energy company (renewable or nuclear electricity, energy efficiency, etc.) compatible with the European green taxonomy. This classification system was put in place by the EU to mobilize private investment towards economic activities considered environmentally sustainable.
In July 2022, the European Parliament officially included nuclear and gas among the “sustainable” energies contributing to the fight against climate change, a controversial decision which had angered environmentalists. The French reactors were originally authorized without operating time limits, but EDF had initially envisaged a lifespan of 40 years.
Extend the life of power plants
In 2015, EDF launched the “grand carénage”, a vast program to modernize and extend the life of its power plants beyond 40 years, the cumulative cost of which amounts to 66 billion euros for its first (2015- 2021) and second phases (2022-2028), according to an estimate provided by EDF in March 2023.
While French power plants are between 30 and 40 years old on average, the government wants to build up to 14 new reactors and extend those that can be extended as much as possible as part of its plan to revive the production of carbon-free electricity. which should allow France to move away from fossil fuels, which are responsible for global warming.
Faced with colossal investment needs to make this program a reality, EDF is burdened with an abysmal debt of 54.4 billion euros. The French nuclear fleet has 56 reactors in operation, commissioned between 1979 and 2002.