Endorsed mid-week, the closure of reactor number 1 of the oldest power station in France is a complex operation which will take several decades. From fuel evacuation to waste management, Europe 1 met specialists to understand how the dismantling of Fessenheim will take place.

INVESTIGATION

After years of debate, the closure of the Fessenheim plant is about to begin. The government definitively approved the measure on Wednesday: this Saturday at 1 a.m., the first reactor of the plant, commissioned in 1978, will be shut down definitively. The second reactor will be shut down in June, which will put an end to the activity of Fessenheim. How will this first dismantling go, which will have to be followed by 12 others by 2035? and how will France compensate for this loss of energy? Europe 1 conducted the investigation.

A dismantling which must last 20 years

This is a titanic project which begins this Saturday for the EDF teams. The company will take no less than 20 years to completely dismantle the Fessenheim nuclear power plant. An operation estimated between 350 and 500 million euros. A wide range which is explained by the fact that this is the first time that EDF has tackled a project of this type, so ambitious. And before speaking of dismantling proper, there is a first, delicate phase, which should take five years.

"There is a first priority: it is the evacuation of the fuel", confirms at the microphone of Europe 1 Pierre Bois, of the nuclear safety authority (ASN). "Once it is removed, the risk of nuclear accident is eliminated. This phase will last approximately three years. In parallel, a certain number of cleaning operations must take place in order to drain the circuits, make a first decontamination, and prepare the ground for dismantling operations. "

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Once evacuated, the rubble and contaminated waste will go to storage centers, or will be buried in Bure, in the Grand Est region, for the most radioactive. As for fuel, it will leave for the La Hague reprocessing center.

Towards energetic "points of tension" for the winters 2022-2023?

On the energy side, the loss of these reactors should not have any impact until 2022, renewable energies taking over. Without forgetting the possibility of importing electricity from Great Britain or Italy. But it is after this date that things will be more delicate. Coupled with the closure of the last coal-fired power plants, and the delay in delivering the Flamanville power plant, electricity production should drop to the point that "we could encounter a certain number of points of tension", explains Jean -Paul Roubin of the electricity transmission network (RTE).

"The winters 2022-2023 are anticipated under vigilance", adds the specialist who also specifies that this does not "mean that there will be power cuts" but that RTE could be led to "activate a certain number of levers" . But to avoid any problem, the French may be asked to watch their consumption if these winters turn out to be harsh.