End of line? – Watt?

from masterresource

By Kennedy Maize — January 15, 2025

“Construction of the advanced European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) in Flamanville began in 2007. It is expected to cost US$3.4 billion and be operational in 2012. According to EDF, the final cost will be approximately US$13.7 billion.

Last month (December 21), the 1,600-MW Flamanville nuclear power plant (pictured below) near Normandy began delivering power to French and European grids. It becomes the first new unit in France's once-aggressive nuclear power program since 1996.^th in the French fleet.

France's state-owned power company Electricité de France was once seen as a leading player in nuclear power, in many ways ahead of even the United States, which also had trouble during the initial nuclear boom. no longer.

Construction of the state-of-the-art European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) began in Flemanville in 2007. The final cost was about 13.3 billion euros ($13.7 billion), according to EDF.

EDF's Generation 111+ EPR was originally designed by French nuclear developer Areva, which meant a huge headache for France and some other countries buying the machine. The first two reactors were shipped to China, and Taishan 1 and Taishan 2 were put into use in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Despite China's opacity about its nuclear programme, construction of the two EPR reactors has suffered severe delays, nearly twice the 46 months Areva expected. Taishan 1 will be closed for maintenance from July 2021 to August 2022.

EDF has poor experience with EPR in Europe, where information is more accessible and reputable. Finland has an EPR contract for its existing nuclear power plant on the island of Olkiluoto. Construction of Olkiluoto 3 began in 2005 and was scheduled to be operational in 2009, before entering service in 2023 after several problems arose. The final cost was more than 11 billion euros ($11.5 billion), most of which was borne by Areva.

In the UK, EDF's UK subsidiary is building the 2-unit, 3,200 MW Hinkley Point C EPR project. The Hinkley Point project also encountered similar difficulties as other EPR projects. A year ago, EDF announced that the two units would be priced at £416-47.9 billion ($52.3 billion-$60.2 billion), with the first unit due to come online between 2029 and 2031. This remains speculation.

Despite these problems, France is doubling down on its nuclear energy efforts, adopting a new, scaled-down 1,200-MW EPR design called EPR2. In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced an active “revival” of France's nuclear ambitions, first building six EPR2 nuclear power plants at the Penly plant in northern France, and then building another six nuclear power plants elsewhere. In July 2023, EDF submitted an application to the French nuclear energy regulator for approval to build two EPR2 units at Penly.

Macron’s nuclear optimism raises suspicion (his government’s foundations are on shaky ground, apparently unrelated to his nuclear enthusiasm).

Jérôme Guillet, a veteran French wind energy financier and commentator who publishes the eponymous Substack newsletter Jérôme Paris, has expressed doubts about the future of nuclear weapons. He wrote before December 21

It's the last gasp of nuclear energy – perhaps some would like to see Flamanville eventually integrated into the French grid, and multiple PR stunts from Microsoft, Amazon and others. (This is just an announcement of a development, a high-condition commitment to buy power) as the beginning of a renaissance in the industry, but this is more like a last gasp – in fact, 2024 is likely to be the year wind + solar replaces nuclear power globally One year.

Flamanville, he writes, “may be one of the last nuclear power plants built in Europe. Hinkley Point in the UK may be completed at some point in the future, but even in France there are doubts about the next project and the potential for future investment.” Decision delayed. “The transition to renewable energy dominance in our electricity system will be over when any new nuclear power stations are built in the West. “

Jerome also dismissed concerns about the sharp increase in electricity demand, which has largely driven the development of nuclear energy. “Despite the constant stream of announcements about AI and data centers, overall demand in the U.S. is broadly stable (down 2% in 2023 and up 2% in 2024), while Europe is contracting rapidly,” he said. He concluded:

Some blame Europe's deindustrialization (and crazy green policies and/or naivete on Russia for collective suicide,(Even though these are two contradictory and inconsistent arguments) But this trend predates the war in Ukraine. The reality is that we are moving towards services as we continue to improve industrial processes, and a service economy consumes less energy than a more primitive economy. Even in emerging markets, energy intensity is declining rapidly.

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This article was originally published on power expert Kennedy Maize's blog, The Quad Report.

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