France is lucky because France has nuclear power – at least that’s what President Emmanuel Macron said in a recent speech. Nuclear power produces low-CO₂ electricity, which is why the “mode de vie” of our neighbors is statistically only half as harmful to the climate as our lifestyle. “There are areas in which we as French and Europeans should take a leadership role,” said Macron, announcing the decarbonization of the economy.
Unfortunately, France has nuclear power plants that were built in the 1970s: As a rule, such plants are engineered to run for 40 years, after which the risk of material fatigue increases. The pressurized water reactors in Bugey, eastern France, have been on the grid since 1978, those in Dampierre or Gravelines, central and northern France, since 1980. At least ten reactors should therefore have been shut down in the past year or in this year, two thirds of the 56 French reactors must be in off the grid for four years at the latest. France therefore has a problem: 70 percent of its electricity is produced by nuclear fission.
For years, the nuclear supervisory authority has been trying to gain time through controversial term extensions. But there is no substitute in sight. A “European Pressurized Water Reactor” (EPR) has been under construction at the Flamanville site on the Atlantic coast since 2004. The flagship project was originally supposed to be completed in 2012 at a fixed price of 3.2 billion euros. Since then, the start of operations has been postponed seven times, and the Court of Auditors puts the costs at over 19 billion euros. Perhaps the EPR will go online in 2024. However, given the enormous costs, he will never work economically.
Power plants, especially nuclear power plants, do not fall from the sky. La Grande Nation is facing an unprecedented energy crisis. Macron has no choice but to turn it into a “future project”: One billion euros is to be invested in the expansion of nuclear energy, in new, smaller power plants, the so-called Small Modular Reactors. They are much safer and produce less nuclear waste, according to Macron.
Instead of connecting 1,300 megawatts of power to the grid, as in Flamanville, these “small modular reactors” only generate up to 300 megawatts. In fact, they are cheaper because they are supposed to be mass-produced in a factory. However, there are also disadvantages: The biggest one: It doesn’t even exist yet. The company Nuscale Power is working on a prototype with 50 megawatts of power and an “integral reactor vessel”. There is already talk of a renaissance of nuclear power; if everything goes well, the fourth generation of nuclear reactors will be operational by the 2030s.
It’s too late for France’s electricity problem. That is why the president announced that he would also invest in renewable energies. This is sensible because every installed wind turbine actually helps to replace batteries immediately. In France, nuclear power is associated with national pride and sovereignty, decentralized technologies tend to be a nuisance. And so the President promises 100 million euros for nuclear power every year up to 2030 (also to retrofit old systems), is working on Plan B for France’s “mode de vie” and is leaving it with the phase-out plan that has been adopted: France has committed itself to increasing the proportion of nuclear power by 2035 Reduce 50 percent and replace it with renewable energies.
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