New nuclear power plants planned as part of France's push to cut CO2 emissions are likely to start producing electricity in 2035-2037, the government's junior environment minister said Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron announced the new reactor drive in November, saying the zero-emission technology was crucial for Europe in its bid to curb global warming, and for France to reduce its dependence on imported oil and natural gas.

The initial reactors will be so-called EPR2s, next-generation versions of the European Pressurised Reactors developed by the state-owned EDF, deputy minister Berangere Abba told lawmakers in the Senate.

"We imagine a schedule where submissions are filed around 2023, with operations beginning in 2035-2037," Abba said, adding that the exact number of new reactors would be announced "soon."

EDF for its part has offered to build six EPR2s for some 50 billion euros ($57 billion).

"In the meantime, EDF has filed security designs for the EPR2 with the ASN (nuclear security agency), which has validated the main outlines -- we have a framework and the feedback from the first EPRs," she said.

France gets the bulk of its electricity -- 70 percent -- from 56 reactors spread across 18 plants currently in operation.

Many are approaching their initial expected lifespan of 40 years, and EDF is now building its first EPR at Flamanville, along the English Channel in northwestern France.

But the project has sustained multiple delays and cost overruns since its launch in 2007, and is now expected to cost 12.4 billion euros compared with the original 3.3-billion-euro budget.

France is also being forced to restart some coal-fired plants in the coming weeks -- even though Macron pledged to progressively shut them down by the end of this year -- as several reactors are shut down for maintenance or technical problems.

The government has also said a coal plant at Cordemais in western France will be allowed to operate until 2024 while the Flamanville site is brought online.

cho/js/jh/lth

EDF - ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Microreactors could be deployed where energy shortages occur
Arlington TX (SPX) Jan 05, 2022
Researchers from The University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A and M University have received a three-year, $500,000 grant from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to conduct experiments and simulations of liquid metal heat pipes (LMHPs) for micro nuclear reactors. The microreactor is a compact nuclear reactor design generating up to 20 megawatts of thermal energy that can be converted into electricity or used for a wide range of industrial applications, including hydrogen production. Most ... read more