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ENERGY

Nuclear phaseout to cost Germany €250 billion

Germany's decision to switch from nuclear to renewable sources of energy will require investment of €250 billion ($340 billion) over the next decade, a new study found Monday.

Published: 19 September 2011 16:05 CEST
Nuclear phaseout to cost Germany €250 billion
Photo: DPA

According to the study by the state-owned investment bank KfW, the planned realignment of Germany’s power supply from nuclear to renewables will require “additional investment needs of around €250 billion by 2020.”

KfW describes itself as one of the leading sources of finance in the energy sector, estimating that it financed 80 percent of new wind turbines installed in Germany last year, plus 40 percent of solar panels.

The bank also financed the insulation of buildings.

In the wake of the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, the German government has decided to shut down all of its nuclear reactors by the end of 2022.

At the same time, renewables are to account for 80 percent of total electricity generation by 2050, compared with 17 percent last year, the KfW study said.

AFP/mry

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BUSINESS

France’s EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

French energy giant EDF has unveiled net profit of €10billion and cut its massive debt by increasing nuclear production after problems forced some plants offline.

Published: 16 February 2024 10:45 CET
France's EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

EDF hailed an “exceptional” year after its loss of €17.9billion in 2022.

Sales slipped 2.6 percent to €139.7billion , but the group managed to slice debt by €10billion euros to €54.4billion.

EDF said however that it had booked a €12.9 billion depreciation linked to difficulties at its Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Britain.

The charge includes €11.2 billion for Hinkley Point assets and €1.7billion at its British subsidiary, EDF Energy, the group explained.

EDF announced last month a fresh delay and additional costs for the giant project hit by repeated cost overruns.

“The year was marked by many events, in particular by the recovery of production and the company’s mobilisation around production recovery,” CEO Luc Remont told reporters.

EDF put its strong showing down to a strong operational performance, notably a significant increase in nuclear generation in France at a time of historically high prices.

That followed a drop in nuclear output in France in 2022. The group had to deal with stress corrosion problems at some reactors while also facing government orders to limit price rises.

The French reactors last year produced around 320.4 TWh, in the upper range of expectations.

Nuclear production had slid back in 2022 to 279 TWh, its lowest level in three decades, because of the corrosion problems and maintenance changes after
the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hinkley Point C is one of a small number of European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) worldwide, an EDF-led design that has been plagued by cost overruns
running into billions of euros and years of construction delays.

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