The 26 French nuclear reactors on hold should have restarted their electricity production during the winter, the management of Electricité de France (EDF) announced on Wednesday, under pressure at the approach of a tense season on the energy security front.
France is facing exceptional unavailability of its fleet of 56 reactors: the “effective” holding of this schedule for returning to the network will play an essential role in electricity management this winter, warned Wednesday the Electricity Transport Network (RTE). ), network manager.
At the origin of this situation, the delay in ten-year maintenance, due to the Covid, and the discovery last winter of corrosion problems, forcing EDF to undertake an almost general inspection. EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy said on Wednesday that “corrosion-related sites were progressing at a good pace: Tricastin 3, the first, is finished”.
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Soft restart
Regarding the restart of the 26 reactors currently shut down, five must start once more in September, five in October, followed by seven additional in November, three in December, three in January then two in February, explained Cédric Lewandowski, executive director from EDF. A 26th today in “fortuitous” stop should restart shortly.
“To date, 27 reactors are connected to the network and three are in fuel economy in order to be able to produce next winter,” according to Jean-Bernard Lévy. The latter, however, underlined “the lack of room for maneuver in the sector to absorb (more quickly) this unexpected increase in load”, especially in the most specialized operations.
“Our teams and those of our industrial partners are fully mobilized to put as many reactors as possible back on the network for the next winter,” he said, adding that the group now had “a means of non-destructive testing” to continue the corrosion diagnostics.
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New reactors planned
After having planned to reduce the wings of nuclear power, a decision recorded in a law of 2015, France chose to relaunch the atom, by the voice of President Emmanuel Macron who wished, in February in Belfort (east), the construction of six new EPR-type reactors.
Under the effect of the war in Ukraine, the flow of Russian gas to Europe has dried up, which raises fears of shortages in the winter and causes a surge in prices on the markets. The construction of nuclear power plants is a solution to overcome the economic problems linked to the cost of energy. Also, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that the price shield, which limits price increases to 15%, would now be for 2023.
afp/rad
