French nuclear safety authority greenlights commissioning of Flamanville power plant

After a 12-year construction delay, France’s first ‘EPR’ power plant has been approved for operation by the French nuclear safety authority (ASN). The decision will enable project owner EDF to begin loading nuclear fuel into the reactor, to produce 1,600 megawatts by the end of 2024.

When operational the Flamanville plant, situated in the north-west coastal region of Normandy, will be France’s most powerful nuclear reactor, capable of supplying energy to two million homes.

Roland Lescure, the Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy, said on X that this decision was “another decisive step in the relaunch of nuclear power initiated by the President of the Republic.”

Light at the end of the tunnel

The European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) programme was launched in 1992 to revive Europe’s atomic industry following the 1986  Chernobyl disaster. The EPR design is intended to offer safer and more efficient nuclear power.

However, all European projects deploying these new types of reactor have experienced major delays.

In the UK construction of the Hinkley Point C EPR began in 2012 and was scheduled for completion in 2017. Operations are now not set to begin before 2029-31 and construction costs will be almost double the initial forecast.

The only ERP operating in Europe is Finland’s Olkiluoto, after a twelve-year delay and a tripling of construction costs.

The Flamanville EPR has faced similar challenges. Issues include cracks in the concrete slab, anomalies in the reactor vessel, and welding defects. The project is 12 years behind schedule and be five times more expensive than planned – €19.1 billion according to a 2022 Cour des Comptes report.

Authorisation in a troubled context

The ASN’s positive opinion comes as France’s atomic energy control policies are being restructured.

On the night of 9 April, the National Assembly passed a bill on nuclear safety reform, which will establish a single nuclear authority from 1 January 2025. This new structure will merge the ‘nuclear watchdog’, the ASN, with the sector’s technical expert, the ‘Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire’ (IRSN).

The government’s objective is to help revive the nuclear industry, by accelerating assessment, authorisation and control processes.

In addition to extending the operation of existing reactors, France plans to build six more EPRs and develop new-generation nuclear projects, namely small modular reactors (SMRs) and AMRs (advanced small reactors).

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Chris Powers]

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