elbows
Well-Known Member
Unless France manages to hit targets that analysts seem to think are unrealistic, France is not going to be a good advert this winter for the reliability and security of supply that some claim nuclear can offer.
There is quite a lot of info in the article, here are just a few quotes:
Analysis-France braces for uncertain winter as nuclear power shortage looms
France, once Europe's top power exporter, may not produce enough nuclear energy this winter to help European neighbours seeking alternatives to Russian gas, and may even have to ration electricity to meet its own needs. France has for years helped to underpin Europe's electricity supply...
uk.finance.yahoo.com
There is quite a lot of info in the article, here are just a few quotes:
France has for years helped to underpin Europe's electricity supply, providing about 15% of the region's total power generation.
But this year, for the first time since French records began in 2012, France has become a net power importer as its own production of nuclear energy hit a 30-year low, based on data from consultancy EnAppSys.
The supply squeeze, caused by a wave of repairs at the country's nuclear power stations, couldn't have come at a worse time. Europe is in the grip of an energy crisis as Russian gas supplies plummet in the wake of the Ukraine conflict and France, which derives 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy, has lost its edge.
Last week, EDF - which this year has cut its nuclear output forecasts several times and issued four profit warnings - delayed the restart of several reactors to at least mid-November, fuelling more uncertainty.
Current power market prices reveal a lack of confidence in EDF's ability to put all its reactors back online in time for the cold season, a parliamentary source close to government said, although this source also said the availability of the fleet should improve from current low levels.
EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said on Monday that among the reactors that are closed, 12 were for corrosion problems and the rest were either shut for routine maintenance delayed by the pandemic or taken off-line to prepare them for winter.
Levy said the company was "totally mobilised" to avoid more outages.
"These works are heavy, we will need hundreds and hundreds of very skilled people, we are making them come from abroad, the U.S. in particular," he told a business conference. He said corrosion issues required workers to operate in a part of the reactor where radiation is high, meaning exposure had to be limited.
Longer term, questions remain over whether EDF, which is in the process of being fully nationalised, can maintain its ageing fleet of existing power stations - mostly build in the 1980s - or build new ones quickly enough to replace them.
France's nuclear safety watchdog ASN said in May that fixing the corrosion issues affecting EDF's reactors could take years.
The next generation nuclear reactors EDF has built - including one in Flamanville in France, and another at Hinkley Point in England - have run billions over budget and several years beyond schedule.