nuclear-news

Britain’s electricity needs for winter cannot depend on France’s unreliable nuclear power

Dave Toke: Oliver Wright writes that National Grid planning “assumes that Britain will be able to import 5.7GW of electricity via interconnectors, including from France” (“Ministers vow to keep lights
on as winter power squeeze looms”, Aug 9).

However, the French electricity system is in crisis owing to the fact that about half of France’s nuclear power station fleet is offline because of corrosion and other problems. Ageing reactors need urgent repair. There seems little prospect that these problems will be fully resolved by this winter.

Indeed these problems are exacerbating European power problems, already severe because of the war in Ukraine. Apart from the fact that this causes potentially serious issues for the UK, it emphasises that nuclear power is by no means as reliable as may otherwise be assumed.

 Times 10th Aug 2022

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-letters-conserving-energy-and-saving-money-wjrh0kcxn

August 9, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK