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NUCLEAR POWER

Flagship French nuclear reactor hits another snag

France's world renowned prowess in the nuclear power industry has taken another blow after officials announced this week, yet another delay to the launch of its next generation reactor, that is fast becoming a costly calamity.

Flagship French nuclear reactor hits another snag
The new nuclear reactor at Flamanville which has been plagued by setbacks and delays. Photo: AFP

French energy group EDF on Thursday announced a further delay to the launch of its next generation EPR nuclear reactor, another setback for its €10.5-billion ($11.6 billion)  project.

The launch is now set for “the fourth quarter of 2018,” said EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Levy, of the showcase project being built with atomic energy giant Areva which has faced fresh technical problems in the past few months.

Levy was adamant that the delay would not affect the controversial plans to build two new EPR reactors at Hinkley Point in the UK.

“I have reviewed the Flamanville EPR project in detail, and I am absolutely confident that it will be a success,” Levy said.

“It is a priority for EDF and of critical importance for the French nuclear industry and its success internationally. 

“All of the experience gained at Flamanville will be invaluable for other EPR projects, such as Hinkley Point. Together with renewable energies, new nuclear build is an asset for successful energy transition to which EDF is fully committed.”

It's the fourth time EDF (Electricite de France) has had to push back the delivery date of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), a third-generation reactor design considered the most advanced and safest in the world.

The project in Flamanville in northwest France, which began construction in 2007, was set to be the first EPR reactor to go on line, but now it appears that could be achieved at the Taishan nuclear reactor in southern China.

Another EPR project in Finland, involving Areva and German engineering group Siemens, has also been plagued with delays and cost overruns. It is set to begin the testing phase in 2016 and start operations in 2018.

SEE ALSO: France's nuclear calamity has UK worried

Levy put China's racing ahead to be first with an EPR reactor down to differences in nuclear security regulations as well as building and labour practices.

China, which started construction in 2009, has also “greatly benefitted from the experience at Flamanville”, which has allowed it “to avoid some of the glitches,” said Xavier Ursat, director of engineering and new nuclear projects at EDF.

Flamanville was originally set for delivery in 2012 at a budget of €3.3 billion . The latest setback leaves the estimated cost at €10.5 billion.

“The cost of the first model is always higher,” said Levy.


(The steel vessel, in which anomalies have been found arrives at the site. Photo: AFP)

 

He also stressed that EDF and Areva remain confident  of the reactor, which is “vital” for France's electricity network and can help the renewal of the country's vast nuclear energy sector.

France is the most nuclear-dependent country in the world, and the second-biggest producer of nuclear energy with 58 reactors located in 19 power stations.

The delay and increased cost overruns sent EDF shares tumbling 2.24 percent Thursday to close at €18.290 on the Paris bourse.

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ENVIRONMENT

France begins shutting down oldest nuclear plant

French state-owned energy giant EDF on Saturday began shutting down the country's oldest nuclear power plant after 43 years in operation.

France begins shutting down oldest nuclear plant
Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP

EDF said it had disconnected one of two reactors at Fessenheim, along the Rhine near France's eastern border with Germany and Switzerland, at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) in the first stage of the complete closure of the plant.

The second reactor is to be taken off line on June 30 but it will be several months before the two have cooled enough and the used fuel can start to be removed.

French nuclear power plant is seven years late and costs have tripled

The removal of the fuel is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023 but the plant will only be fully decommissioned by 2040 at the earliest.

Shutting down Fessenheim became a key goal of anti-nuclear campaigners after the catastrophic meltdown at Fukushima in Japan in 2011.

Experts have noted that construction and safety standards at Fessenheim, brought online in 1977, fall far short of those at Fukushima, with some warning that seismic and flooding risks in the Alsace region had been underestimated.

Despite a pledge by ex-president Francois Hollande just months after Fukushima to close the plant, it was not until 2018 that President Emmanuel Macron's government gave the final green light.

“This marks a first step in France's energy strategy to gradually re-balance nuclear and renewable electricity sources, while cutting carbon emissions by closing coal-fired plants by 2022,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said earlier this week.

France will still be left with 56 pressurised water reactors at 18 nuclear power plants — only the United States has more reactors, at 98 — generating an unmatched 70 percent of its electricity needs.

The government confirmed in January that it aims to shut down 12 more reactors nearing or exceeding their original 40-year age limit by 2035, when nuclear power should represent just 50 percent of France's energy mix.

But at the same time, EDF is racing to get its first next-generation reactor running at its Flamanville plant in 2022 — 10 years behind schedule —  and more may be in the pipeline.

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