France’s super-expensive reactor: Nuclear power plant starts operation twelve years late

France’s super-expensive reactor
Nuclear power plant begins operations twelve years late

March 28, 2024, 3:43 p.m

Listen to article

After a twelve-year delay, the new reactor at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in France is scheduled to feed electricity into the grid for the first time this summer. Instead of the originally estimated 3.3 billion euros, costs are now calculated at more than twelve billion euros.

This summer, France is putting a new nuclear power plant into operation for the first time in over 20 years. As the state energy company EDF announced, the nuclear regulator had approved the final preparatory steps for the start of the new nuclear reactor in Flamanville on the English Channel. The first loading of the power plant with nuclear fuel could be planned in the next few weeks.

The connection of the pressurized water reactor (EPR) to the national power grid is planned for the summer. On Tuesday, statements from the nuclear regulatory authority ASN caused fears that the start could be delayed again due to an announced public consultation

Construction of the controversial reactor began in 2007, and instead of the originally estimated 3.3 billion euros, the cost is now estimated at more than twelve billion euros. Commissioning will now take place twelve years later than originally planned. Recently, leaky weld seams in the steel shell led to delays. The EPR reactor model developed by France was intended to revive nuclear power after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and offer more power with greater safety. Three reactors are in operation so far, one in Finland and two in China.

Unlike Germany, France continues to rely on the expansion of nuclear power for its energy supply and the achievement of climate protection goals. France’s oldest nuclear power plant in Fessenheim in Alsace was shut down in 2020. In principle, however, the construction of 14 or possibly more new power plants is being considered. In addition, the lifespan of existing power plants should be increased from 40 to 50 years if safety permits. This is planned for 32 of the 56 French nuclear power plants. France is still the second largest producer of nuclear power in the world, behind the USA.