France: Emmanuel Macron in Belfort to announce a nuclear recovery plan

Audio 03:53

The Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear power plant.

(Illustrative image) AFP / François Nascimbeni

By: Pauline Gleize Follow

4 mins

Emmanuel Macron is expected this afternoon in Belfort in eastern France.

Two months before the presidential election, the trip is intended to be symbolic: the head of state, and quasi-candidate, will go to the manufacturing site of the Arabelle turbines that equip French nuclear power plants.

Sold by Alstom to the American General Electri

in 2015 when Emmanuel Macron was Minister of the Economy, the site could come back under French control.

EDF is negotiating its takeover.

This trip will be devoted to France's energy strategy.

Emmanuel Macron must in particular present his nuclear recovery plan.

Advertising

Emmanuel Macron had already

he wanted to launch new reactor constructions but without giving many details.

And since the sector was growing impatient.

The Nuclear Safety Authority recently encouraged taking decisions without delay on the country's energy choices.

"

", had indicated, the president of the ASN, Bernard Doroszczuk.

At the beginning of January, the CEO of EDF considered it urgent that the government move from a declaration of principle to a phase of concrete action.

Because a nuclear project takes time.

The decision to build a series of second-generation EPR reactors should therefore finally be announced on Thursday, according to a source close to the executive.

How many ?

That's the whole question.

EDF has proposed the construction of 6 EPR2s, for around fifty billion euros.

Emmanuel Macron could go further with an option for 8 additional reactors, i.e. 14 in total.

14,

is the figure that appears in the scenarios most favorable to nuclear power in the “Energy Futures 2050” report by RTE, the manager of the electricity transmission network, released in October

One of the scenarios also evokes the possibility of adding SMRs, small modular reactors.

This revival will require effort.

Starting with recruitment.

The

Safety Authority estimates the number of engineers needed to be recruited per year at 4,000 to respond to new projects, work on the current fleet and maintenance operations.

The ASN also believes that in the event of recovery, the sector should put in place a “ 

 ”.

On the financial level, it will also be necessary to have a means of supporting these projects.

In any case, the Elysée assured that the State "would contribute and play its role" in the financing.

Especially since EDF, which is already heavily in debt, is being put to the test at the moment

The company will have to sell an additional 20 terawatt hours at a knockdown price to its competitors for an estimated cost of 8 billion euros.

And it is already facing numerous investments, among other things for the extension of the aging fleet and for the end of the

construction site , the cost of which continues to increase.

The note now stands at 12.7 billion euros, whereas the project was initially supposed to cost around 3.5 billion.

Flamanville which is only one of the many difficulties that EDF has been going through in recent months

In addition to the five currently under review, EDF must still shut down three additional reactors in the French fleet to check for the presence of any corrosion problem. The production forecast has therefore been revised downwards in a context of tensions on the electricity supply this winter.

A few months ago, an incident led to the shutdown of one of the EPR reactors in China.

In Finland, the test production phase of the EPR Olkiluoto-3 was finally launched by the Finnish energy company TVO after a 12-year delay, but its normal commissioning has finally been delayed by another month by the Finnish operator.

As for the project for a new power plant in the United Kingdom

it is also weighed down by delays due to funding difficulties and political complications.

Despite everything, the group is still betting on its EPR

The electrician is hopeful of selling new ones abroad thanks to the imperatives of decarbonization.

The group is banking on the sale of six EPRs for the future Jaitapur power plant in India.

He also discusses with European countries such as Poland or the Czech Republic.

So beyond its direct impact on the sector, estimated at around 10,000 jobs for the construction of two reactors according to the French Nuclear Energy Manufacturers Group,

program announced this afternoon could give a boost in terms of image.

Another good news for the sector a week after the European Commission proposed to include the atom in its taxonomy for sustainable finance.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• France

• Energies

• Nuclear