2024-09-05 03:08:27
The Flamanville EPR (Manche) experienced an “automatic shutdown” on Wednesday the day after its start, showing a twelve-year delay, EDF has announced. The teams carry out technical checks and analyzes before being able to restart the “reaction of the reactor”, that is to say the nuclear launch, continued the electricity supplier.
“This morning, the reactor has automatically shut down,” a union spokesman told AFP. “The teams are doing the necessary technical checks and analyses, following the normal procedures, then they will restart the reactor’s differentiation,” he added, stressing that “the start-up is a long and complex process (which) requires the extensive testing. , examinations, and may result in such delays.”
“It proves that the security system is working well,” he said. “We know this can lead to stops of this type. »
“Inappropriate configuration of the installation”
According to Nicolas Goldberg, energy expert at Columbus Consulting, “we must expect this kind of risk. It is a very complex industrial process and therefore it is common to encounter risks. »
The expert pointed out to AFP that “on the Finnish EPR, there are many frustrations, especially with the hydraulic pumps which are defective and which have to be replaced”. “This does not call into question the beginning. You just have to be patient,” he noted.
“According to the main elements of the technical knowledge, this shutdown can be linked to the improper configuration of the installation,” said the EDF spokesperson. The latter “would have led to an automatic shutdown of the reactor in accordance with the system provided for design,” he added.
Twelve years late
The EPR experienced the “first nuclear reaction” on Tuesday, an important stage in the start of the new generation nuclear reactor, the group announced a day after the green light authorized by the Nuclear Agency, ASN, to launch this operation . “This first nuclear reaction is the first sign of the increase in capacity, in the next stages, of the Flamanville EPR”, which must also reach 25% capacity to be connected to the electricity network “by the end of autumn”, explains EDF.
The project is 12 years after the first schedule due to many setbacks and technical risks which caused the money to explode, now estimated at 13.2 billion euros by EDF, four times the initial cost of 3.3 billion. In a press release, Greenpeace denounced “a false start or rather a political start”.
EPR, a new generation of water-cooled, is the 4th of its kind installed in the world, the 57th reactor in the French nuclear fleet, and the most powerful in the country (1,600 MW Finally, you must providing electricity to around 3 million homes.
#Flamanville #EPR #reactor #automatically #shut #announces #EDF