Eemmanuel Macron unveils on Thursday in Belfort, two months before the presidential election, a vast plan to revive civil nuclear in France, with the construction of 6 to 14 new EPR reactors, and more generally, his energy strategy for France by 2030, the same day that EDF announces the takeover of General Electric’s nuclear activities.
No coincidence: it was under pressure from the Head of state, in the name of industrial sovereignty, that the electrician group announced on Thursday morning an exclusive agreement to buy part of GE Steam Power’s nuclear business, including the Arabelle steam turbines that equip French power plants.
Emmanuel Macron should solemnly announce the return of strategic turbines under the French flag.
Quite a symbol, because these are the same turbines that in 2015 Emmanuel Macron, then François Hollande’s Economy Minister, had decided to sell to the American group. A choice that his political opponents have been blaming him for since the beginning of the five-year term.
In addition to this reversal, the main announcement of the head of state on Thursday followingnoon will be the construction of a series of new second-generation EPR nuclear reactors.
According to a source close to the executive, the order to EDF might go up to six EPR2 reactors with an option for eight additional reactors, or 14 in total. The highest range of the experts’ scenarios, a sign of an unambiguous pro-nuclear choice of the Head of state, with the echo of the great nuclear program of the 70s.
France is currently building only one new EPR nuclear reactor, at Flamanville (Manche), which has been under construction for fifteen years at a very high cost.
Accompanied by several ministers, the president and quasi-candidate will make his announcements precisely at the Arabelle turbines manufacturing site, in Belfort.
This speech with the appearance of the future candidate’s energy program will illustrate the pro-nuclear evolution of Emmanuel Macron, who in 2017 insisted above all on his commitment to reduce nuclear power to 50% of electricity production, inherited from François Hollande.
It has been several months since Emmanuel Macron had to make these announcements, delayed by the health crisis. On November 9, he had already announced that France would “for the first time in decades restart the construction of nuclear reactors” to “guarantee France’s energy independence” and “achieve carbon neutrality in 2050”.
It is also a sign to assure the French that the cost of energy will not depend on imports, whose rising prices contribute heavily to weighing on purchasing power, another major theme of the campaign.
Wind turbine
The launch of the new EPR will be expensive: building six EPR2 reactors will cost regarding fifty billion euros, as EDF has already proposed, on existing sites.
The group proposes to build them in pairs on three sites: first in Penly (Seine-Maritime), near Dieppe, then in Gravelines (Nord) and finally in Bugey (Ain) or Tricastin (Drôme).
“The State will contribute and play its role” in the financing, the Elysee promises.
“Several external audits have been carried out by the government to confirm the strength of EDF’s figures and these elements will be made public within days of the President’s speech,” the Presidency said.
In Belfort, Emmanuel Macron is also expected to talk regarding the small nuclear reactors (SMR) program.
But beyond that, it is a global energy strategy that the Head of State must present, anxious to show that he continues to attach importance to renewable energies, complementary to nuclear.
“Building a new nuclear reactor is not for 15 years, so we need renewable energy right away,” the Elysee said.
Emmanuel Macron might thus mention the development of offshore wind turbines, which are less contested than onshore wind turbines.
Another track, energy savings, with the objective of “reducing our consumption without losing quality of life or purchasing power”.
The framework speech that the Head of State is to deliver in Belfort therefore traces a long-term perspective, but must also allow him to already occupy one of the major topics of the campaign.
Nuclear power is one of the themes of the 2022 presidential campaign, with some candidates advocating a more or less rapid exit (environmentalists or insubordinate) while others (especially on the right and on the far right but also in the communist party) are in favor of this energy.
pab-leb-jmi-jk/cs/vk
10/02/2022 10:48:38 –
St. Petersburg (AFP) –
© 2022 AFP
