EDF announced a further delay and cost overruns for France’s flagship new-generation nuclear plant in a blow to President Emmanuel Macron’s strategy of making atomic power a cornerstone of energy policy.
EDF said that the Flamanville plant on the Channel coast would not be loaded with fuel until the “second quarter of 2023” instead of late 2022.
The statement came after Macron announced plans for new reactors to provide low-carbon energy and as France backs classing nuclear as a “green” technology under future EU rules.
Projected costs had increased by another 300 million euros ($340 million) to 12.7 billion euros, EDF said — around four times more than the initial forecast of 3.3 billion euros.
In November, Macron had announced that “for the first time in decades, we will restart construction of nuclear reactors in our country” — as well as “developing renewable energy”.
The plans would “guarantee France’s energy independence” and help reach its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050, he added.
With 56 reactors providing over 70 per cent of France’s electricity, according to EDF, Paris has led the charge for nuclear power to be recognised by the European Union as a green technology eligible for carbon-neutral investment.
Allying with eastern EU member states like Poland and the Czech Republic, the push to include atomic energy in the so-called green “taxonomy” has set it at odds with traditional partner Germany. In fact, Berlin is in the process of shutting all its nuclear plants by the end of this year.
Many of France’s existing nuclear plants are coming to the end of their expected lifespans of 40 years. The government has said a coal plant at Cordemais in western France will be allowed to operate until 2024 until the Flamanville site is brought online.
If the reactor is loaded with fuel in Flamanville in the middle of next year, it would be expected to begin commercial operations around five or six months later.
Source: Euractiv (2022)