France’s nuclear ”energy independence” is a fake, as it has to import all its uranium fuel
As the Ukraine crisis continues to push fuel prices up, France’s
championing of nuclear power as a way of ensuring its energy sovereignty
sounds great.
But a group of researchers says it’s a red herring given
France imports all its uranium. Production of nuclear power relies on
uranium – a metal ore found in rocks, and in seawater, in many parts of
the world. When France first developed nuclear following the 1973 oil
crisis, it produced some of its own uranium – reaching a peak of 2,634
tonnes in 1980.
But by the end of the 1990s, France stopped building new
plants and its last uranium mine was closed in 2001. Of the 138,230 tonnes
of uranium imported between 2005 and 2020 official Euratom data shows three
quarters came from just four countries: Kazakhstan (27,7France has control
over its uranium supplies because they’re not concentrated in one region of
the world according to French nuclear group Orano (formerly Areva).
Morevoer, 44 percent of the uranium comes from OECD countries its director
general Phillipe Knoche said.
But a group of French researchers and
specialists say France’s reliance on imported uranium “poses a serious
challenge to the idea that nuclear power allows France to ensure its energy
independence”. In an open letter published in Le Monde daily on Tuesday
they write: “We are as dependent on foreign countries for uranium as we
are for gas and oil.” “France’s energy independence is a red herring,
it’s utopian,” socio-anthropologist Eric Hahonou, one of the
signatories, told RFI.48 tonnes), Australia (25,804 tonnes), Niger (24,787)
and Uzbekistan (22,197).
RFI 23rd Feb 2022
*
South Africa removes critic of nuclear power from regulatory board.
South Africa Removes Anti-Nuclear Activist From Regulatory Board
Antony Sguazzin, Bloomberg, 24 Feb 22— South African Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe fired community representative Peter Becker from the board of the National Nuclear Regulator, citing a conflict of interest.
Mantashe said Becker was opposed to the development of new nuclear-power facilities or the extension of the life of South Africa’s existing one, Koeberg, and therefore couldn’t be objective, according to a letter sent to the activist on Friday that was seen by Bloomberg.
The dispute that led to Becker’s removal highlights the difficulties Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is facing in its fight to keep its Koeberg nuclear plant in Cape Town operating until 2044. Mantashe, a former coal-mining labor unionist and chairman of the ruling African National Congress, has emerged as a vocal supporter of the nuclear industry, while drawing criticism from environmental activists. Becker, by contrast, is also a spokesman for the Koeberg Alert Alliance, which wants the plant closed……….
By law, the minister has to appoint a community representative to the board. He complained, in the letter, that Becker had brought the board into disrepute by objecting publicly to its decisions. Becker was suspended on July 18 and then sued Mantashe, forcing the minister to make a decision whether to retain him or fire him from the board.
Becker said he will consult with his legal team and the communities he was representing before responding.
While Eskom has yet to receive final permission to extend the life of Koeberg, the only nuclear-power facility in Africa, it has started a program to spend about 20 billion rand ($1.3 billion) on new steam generators as part of the work needed to keep it operating. Becker and Koeberg Alert have opposed the extension of Koeberg’s operating license because of the nuclear plant’s proximity to Cape Town, a city of 4 million people, citing what they say is a potential for earthquakes. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/south-africa-removes-anti-nuclear-activist-from-regulatory-board-1.1728817
PM Kishida rules out Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons
PM Kishida rules out Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons
February 25, 2022 (Mainichi Japan) TOKYO — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ruled out the possibility of Japan possessing nuclear weapons as part of the “capacity to strike enemy bases” that his government is seeking to acquire.
At a House of Councillors Budget Committee session on Feb. 24, Kishida said, “The three non-nuclear principles (of not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons) are our national policy. There are no options of using or possessing nuclear arms.”…………………….. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220225/p2a/00m/0na/018000c
French government to subsidise EDF nuclear power company by another €2.1bn, to prop up its failing share price
The French government is to inject about €2.1bn (£1.75bn) into
state-controlled energy group EDF to ease the financial pain inflicted by
nuclear reactors going offline and the state making the firm supply power
below market prices. The finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said the capital
injection would be made via a rights issue, announced by EDF on Friday,
aimed at raising €2.5bn to plug holes in the company’s balance sheet.
EDF said the combined effect of having to sell power at below-market prices
and the nuclear outages were likely to knock an estimated €19bn off its
forecast core profits in 2022. Its shares fell 2%, extending a slide in
which the company’s stock has dropped 19.3% in value since the start of
this year.
Guardian 18th Feb 2022
Public Opposition to Nuclear Power
Public Opposition to Nuclear Power. https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2022/02/public-opposition-to-nuclear-power.htmlFebruary 19, 2022
Nuclear power is not popular with the public in most countries. After the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, a global Ipsos survey put global public opposition at 62% averaged out, with it being much higher in some countries e.g. 79% in Germany. 94% voted against it in a referendum in Italy in the wake of Fukushima.
While opposition remain strong in most places around the world, with concerns about climate change rising, there have been some shifts in view in some countries, for example, in the USA , at least according to a survey by Bisconti. But even in countries that are relatively pro-nuclear, public support for it is not that strong. For example, it was reportedly at 38% in 2021 in the UK, compared to 79% support level for renewables, with just 2% opposed to them.
Though its strength may have varied over time, opposition to civil nuclear power has been a world-wide phenomenon attracting people in many countries. To some extent, it grew out of opposition to nuclear weapons, a grass roots response which expanded significantly in the 1960s in Europe in particular, and continued at varying levels right up to the end of the cold war in the late 1990s, and indeed exists still, as does the threat of nuclear war.
Opposition specifically to civil nuclear power emerged in the early 1970s, but, although it drew on some of the same roots as opposition to atomic weapons, it took on its own character and dynamic. In particular, it reflected increasing generational conflicts and the rise of an ‘alternativist’ anti-establishment counter culture amongst young people in the West. It also reflected growing environmental concerns, and support for alternative energy, as indicted by the ubiquitous ‘smiling sun’ graphic part of ‘Nuclear Power? No thanks!’ campaign button that had originated in Denmark in 1975.
Although at times quite militant, there was a preference, shared with the anti-bomb movement, for non-violent direct action/passive resistance. For example, in the USA, in the 1970’s there were mass peaceful demonstrations at nuclear sites, with, in May 1977 a 2,500 strong citizens ‘sit down’ occupation of the site of the proposed reactor at Seabrook in New Hampshire, leading to 1,400 people being arrested and detained. The late 1970s also saw some of the largest demonstrations against nuclear power in the UK, at the proposed site of the Torness nuclear power station in Scotland, with 5,000 demonstrating in 1978 and up to 10,000 the following year.
Although at times quite militant, there was a preference, shared with the anti-bomb movement, for non-violent direct action/passive resistance. For example, in the USA, in the 1970’s there were mass peaceful demonstrations at nuclear sites, with, in May 1977 a 2,500 strong citizens ‘sit down’ occupation of the site of the proposed reactor at Seabrook in New Hampshire, leading to 1,400 people being arrested and detained. The late 1970s also saw some of the largest demonstrations against nuclear power in the UK, at the proposed site of the Torness nuclear power station in Scotland, with 5,000 demonstrating in 1978 and up to 10,000 the following year.
However, that was avoided. Indeed, nuclear opposition, locally and globally, was subsequently renewed, reinforced and widened, with many new participants becoming involved, by nuclear accidents like that at Three Mile Island in the USA in 1979, Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986 and Fukushima in Japan in 2011. The industry certainly faced set back after each of these events, with public opposition increasing. For example, following the Three Mile Island accident, an anti-nuclear protest was held in New York City, involving 200,000 people; Chernobyl led to protests around the world, including up to 200,000 opposing Italy’s nuclear plans; and directly after Fukushima, 60,000 people marched in opposition to nuclear in central Tokyo and again, in 2012, 75,000 people joined a march, this in a country where public displays of dissention on any issue were rare.
Following Fukushima, opposition to nuclear spread across Asia. For example, 130,000 people took to the streets in Taiwan in March 2014 calling for a nuclear phase out. Strong local opposition also emerged in South Korea and Thailand and continued in India. From often being easily dismissed as a fringe, marginal movement, opposition to nuclear power was now wide spread, attracting large majorities (80% and above in polls) in many countries.
Looking back over the whole period, it has to be said that few proposed plants have been halted by direct action/protest campaigns, although they have arguably contributed to a change in political climate, for example in Germany & Spain, but then so did the accidents, e.g. in Asia, following the Fukushima plants spectacular demise. There has been a lot of scholarly research on what mobilises people to act on nuclear issues, much of it done after Fukushima, which clearly had a big impact.
However, so has economics. The progressively poor economics of nuclear has probably been the main reason why nuclear has been in decline in many places. Though there can be two-way interactions between political opposition, with for example linked public demands for improved safety, and the economics of nuclear power. Looking ahead, it may be that the increasingly poor economics and the slow delivery potential of nuclear power compared to renewables, which are clearly progressing, will now move even more people to an anti-nuclear/pro renewables position, including those who see climate change as needing an urgent response. And that may constrain nuclear further.
The Bottom line
Nuclear is not doing well. In the US, given the increasingly competitive alternatives, old nuclear plant closures continue, although some plants may be kept open for a while with subsidies (see my last post), and one new one is being built. Some small new plants may also be tested. But otherwise, nuclear is, in effect, phasing itself out there. In Asia, although Japan has restarted a few reactors, no new ones are planned. China is expanding renewables very dramatically, and although it, and India, are also continuing with nuclear expansion programmes, they are relatively small compared with their renewable programmes. Meanwhile, South Korea has continued with its nuclear phase out by 2030 policy.
In Europe, the UK, France and Finland, as well as some Eastern European countries, still back nuclear, but in addition to the well-known case of Germany, with its last plant scheduled to close by the end of the year, nuclear phase out commitments have also been made in Belgium, Spain, and Switzerland. As noted earlier, after Fukushima, Italy also voted overwhelmingly in a referendum not to go nuclear, a position already adopted by Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Greece and Portugal.
All of which makes the recent statement from the pro-nuclear group Human Progress inaccurate as well as appalling: ‘Whereas a few months ago European Union bureaucrats drawing up the “taxonomy” that defines which energy sources would be considered carbon-free (i.e. valid substitutes for fossil fuels) excluded nuclear power, now nearly all except the fanatical Germanic states have reversed themselves. Indeed, the map of pro- and anti-nuclear Euro¬pean countries now closely resembles a map of World War II circa March 1945, shortly before the taking of the Ludendorff Bridge broke the last line of organised resistance in the Reich’.
Well, it is usually the left that is chastised for playing the ideology card! See my next post…
Update on the status of Britain’s Rolls Royce Small Nuclear Reactor project
Safe Energy E-Journal No. 93 February 2022, Rolls Royce’s Small Modular Reactors On 9th November the Government announced that it would back the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor with £210m in funding. Matched by private sector funding of over £250 million, this investment will be used to further develop the SMR design and start the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. (1)
This was followed in December by an announcement the Qatar Investment Authority will pour £85m into its Small Modular Reactor (SMR) programme, which now has total funding of £490m – enough for RR to start scouting sites for factories to supply parts to build SMRs. (2) France’s wealthy Perrodo family, is also investing in the project. (3) RR hopes to see the first reactors supplying electricity within the next decade.
Rolls-Royce is now seeking bids for a site for a factory to make parts for its small nuclear power plants. It has begun competition between English and Welsh regions. The industry consortium led by Rolls-Royce has sent letters to several regional development agencies in England and the Government of Wales to ask them to sell a site. (4) The main factory will build some of the key components of the reactors which will then be assembled at sites around the UK. The letter from Rolls-Royce promised “high value, sustainable jobs which will produce products that will be exported globally for many decades to come”. It also made clear they were looking for possible “financial and non-financial support” from the host. (5)
The consortium led by Rolls Royce, is planning to build 16 SMRs around the country by 2050, the first of which could be plugged into the grid by 2031. (6) Trawsfynydd and Wylfa are two sites expected to be in line for an SMR. (7) Moorside has also been mentioned and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen wants Hartlepool to be on the list. (8) North Ayrshire Conservative councillor Tom Marshall has called for an SMR to be built at Hunterston. (9)
Jamie Stone, the Liberal-Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross wants Caithness to be considered as a possible site. Davie Alexander, the vice-chairman of the Dounreay Stakeholder Group and chairman of the Thurso and Wick Trades Union Council, would also like to see the county included as a possible location. (10) Stone is meeting with Rolls-Royce to discuss the matter. RollsRoyce welcomed the opportunity. (11)
Councillor Feargal Dalton, chair of the Scottish Forum of the NFLA urged Jaime Stone to think again. Given the good news on renewables, Councillor Dalton was shocked to hear that Stone has invited Rolls Royce for talks on locating a new reactor for Caithness.
“There is clearly no need, and almost no public support, for new nuclear in Scotland, and we need to tackle climate change now. The Rolls Royce technology is unproven, and civil nuclear projects continue to be notorious for being delivered years late or at an eye-wateringly inflated cost and there is no guarantee that the project will not eventually be cancelled because it took too long or cost too much.” (12)
In November Rolls Royce submitted its 470 MWe SMR design for entry to the UK’s Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. (13) But this won’t formally begin until the government has assessed the company’s capability and capacity to successfully enter the GDA process. This could take up to 4 months. The GDA process, once it begins, will take 4 or 5 years. (14)
The Government claims that SMRs have the potential to be less expensive to build than traditional nuclear power plants because of their smaller size, and because the modular nature of the components offers the potential for parts to be produced in dedicated factories and shipped by road to site – reducing construction time and cost. But the reason why existing reactors are large is precisely to derive economies of scale: why smaller reactors should be more economic is problematic. Nuclear proponents allege that assembly-line technology will be used in reactor construction but this has yet to be shown in practice anywhere in the world
Some say that SMRs are little more than wishful thinking. For example, Professor MV Ramana ‒ Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia – states:
“SMR proponents argue that they can make up for the lost economies of scale by savings through mass manufacture in factories and resultant learning. But, to achieve such savings, these reactors have to be manufactured by the thousands, even under very optimistic assumptions about rates of learning.” (15)
The Rolls Royce SMR design is not exactly small at 470 MWe. It is proposing to build 16 reactors at an expected cost around £1.8bn – £2.2bn and producing power at £40-60/MWh over 60 yrs. (16)
As well as the Government funding, Rolls-Royce has been backed by a consortium of private investors. The creation of the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) business was announced following a £195m cash injection from BNF Resources, and Exelon Generation to fund the plans over the next three years. (17)
References; …………… https://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SafeEnergy_No93.pdf
ENGIE Doubles Down On Renewables And Reaffirms Closure Of Belgian NuclearIndustry
ENGIE Doubles Down On Renewables And Reaffirms Closure Of Belgian Nuclear
Industry. ENGIE’s renewables share at 34%, up from 28% in 2019, with 2030
target 50%; 2021 renewable capacity 34.4GW. CEO Catherine MacGregor
confirms shutdown of ENGIE’s Belgian nuclear fleet by end of 2025,
despite big contribution in 2021.
Seeking Alpha 17th Feb 2022
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4487924-engie-stock-doubles-down-renewables-closure-belgian-nuclear
USA’s Department of Energy (DOE) will give $6 Billion in a program to to stop uneconomic nuclear reactors from closing down
DOE to offer $6B to keep struggling nuclear reactors online, Utility Dive Feb. 16, 2022 By Jason Plautz
Dive Brief:
- The Department of Energy (DOE) will spend $6 billion on a program designed to keep nuclear power plants from closing, according to a notice of intent published last week.
- The department’s Civil Nuclear Credit Program is backed by funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November. The program will allow owners and operators of commercial U.S. nuclear reactors to competitively bid on credits to help continue their operations amid economic hardship.
…………. The Notice of Intent and Request for Information released by the DOE Friday will help the department learn more about priorities for the program and certification process, which the administration anticipates launching later this year. ……………….. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/doe-to-offer-6-billion-to-keep-struggling-nuclear-reactors-online/618919/
Bradwell nuclear project -dead in the water? – partly due to work of BANNG (Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group).
There are reasons to be cheerful. One is the long pause and retreat
confirmed by the developer who does not expect to submit an application
‘for several years yet’.
Another is the general feeling that the Chinese project is now dead in the water.
Yet another is the persistent failing of an industry that is too costly, too dangerous and too slow.
And, it must be said, BANNG’s unrelenting campaign over fourteen years, together with the support of local councils and communities, has demonstrated that the Bradwell site, far from being ‘potentially suitable’, is inappropriate, unsustainable and unacceptable.
It is clear that CGN has doubts about the viability of the Bradwell site in an era of Climate Change. It is likely it has hung on until it gains UK regulatory approval for its reactors. Gaining that coveted passport may be the signal for CGN to quit Bradwell and try its luck elsewhere.
BANNG 14th Feb 2022
Lord Truscott questioned the idea that a thermonuclear war with Russia would be an ”unwelcome outcome”
In a written question submitted by Lord Truscott in December, he asked: “Further to the remarks by Baroness Goldie on 29 November (HL Deb, col 1130), what are their reasons for believing that a thermonuclear war with Russia would be an ‘unwelcome outcome’?”
The question has now gone viral on social media after resurfacing amid reports of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Reassuringly, Goldie was steadfast in her reply. “It is difficult to envisage any scenario in which war, whether accidental, thermonuclear or otherwise, and irrespective of which other parties may be involved, would be a welcome outcome,” came the curt response.
The National 15th Feb 2022
https://www.thenational.scot/news/19925593.peer-asks-nuclear-war-russia-unwelcome-outcome/
The Spectator 15th Feb 2022
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/peer-asks-why-nuclear-war-would-be-unwelcome-
Opposition to Holtec dumping nuclear waste into Cape Cod Bay
Preventing nuclear wastewater dumping, MV Times, By Eunki Seonwoo, February 16, 2022 The Aquinnah select board was in favor of Mara Duncan’s request for a non-binding ballot question. Duncan’s ballot question was for Holtec International, owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, decommissioned in 2019, not to discharge nuclear waste into Cape Cod Bay.
Federal leaders from Massachusetts — Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, as well as U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton and Bill Keating — have expressed opposition to Holtec dumping nuclear wastewater into the bay in a letter they wrote in January.
When evaluating the proper method of disposal, Holtec must consider the public’s concerns surrounding and perception of the release of irradiated material into Cape Cod, especially when viable alternatives are available,” the letter reads.
Duncan told the board a number of groups, such as Physicians for Social Responsibility and the fishing industry, are against the dumping. Holtec has other disposal methods. “It is their cheapest option, obviously. It is very easy to open up just open the [lid] and let it spill,” Duncan said. …………….. https://www.mvtimes.com/2022/02/16/preventing-nuclear-wastewater-dumping/
Mini-reactor for Highlands -too “high cost and high risk” says Scottish MP Maree Todd
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Maree Todd has declared that she cannot support the idea of a mini-reactor being built in her constituency,pointing to the “high cost and high risk” associated with nuclear energy.
Engineering giant Rolls-Royce hopes to build up to 10 small modular reactor(SMR) power stations by 2035 and there have been calls for one to be established in Caithness, which has been described as “one of the most nuclear-sympathetic parts of the UK”.
However, Ms Todd said her party, the
SNP, has been clear in its opposition to nuclear development and she argued
that Scotland must look to “safe, sustainable and cost-effective” renewable
sources for its future energy supply.
Ms Todd said: “As an MSP representing a vast and rural Highland constituency, a constituency with the highest fuel poverty rates in the country, I cannot in all conscience
support a nuclear fission solution as a cost-effective, safe energy source
for our community and I believe the vast majority of the public back my
position. We must focus on reliable energy sources that offer value for
money and align with our net-zero ambitions.
John O Groat Journal 16th Feb 2022
As presidential elections approach in France, only the far right and communists support nuclear power
Then 24 , 11 Feb 22,
Ecologist Yannick Jadot, who regularly affirms his ambition to develop wind power and other renewable energies in France, castigated the recent commitments made by Emmanuel Macron to develop the country’s nuclear fleet.
Ecologist Yannick Jadot, who regularly affirms his ambition to develop wind power and other renewable energies in France, castigated the recent commitments made by Emmanuel Macron to develop the country’s nuclear fleet.
During his appearance on February 11 on the air of BFMTV, the Greens presidential candidate, Yannick Jadot, stormed against Emmanuel Macron’s recent commitments in the nuclear field, in particular after his announcement of the commissioning, from 2035, six new “EPR 2” type nuclear reactors, to which is added the study for eight more for the end of the 2040s.
President Macron locks the French for a century in nuclear power
“It does nothing for the climate, it does nothing for the French […] for the years to come”, notably protested the environmentalist MEP before adding: “President Macron locks the French for a century in nuclear power.”
Yannick Jadot then praised the virtues of a German energy model (where the share of wind power in electricity production exceeded 20% in 2021), which he describes as particularly prolific in terms of employment to better castigate the decision of the Head of State by invoking “dictators” and “the far right”: “Big companies, like small and large democracies, are investing in renewable energies. Unfortunately, only dictators, and in France the extreme right, still support nuclear power.
After having advocated a reduction in the share of nuclear power in French electricity production from 75% to 50% by 2025 – a reduction in the context of which the closure of the Fessenheim power station (Haut-Rhin) took place –, Emmanuel Macron made a 180 degree turn on the subject in the second part of his mandate, now showing himself in favor of a revival of the national nuclear fleet.
Visiting Belfort on February 10, he thus expressed his desire to “extend” the life of “all the nuclear reactors that can be extended”. “If the first extensions beyond forty years have been successfully carried out since 2017, I ask EDF to study the conditions for extension beyond fifty years”, he said, among other things..
…………… With the approach of the presidential election, the nuclear sector is particularly acclaimed on the right of the French political spectrum. On the left, its future is mainly praised by the communist candidate Fabien Roussel while Jean-Luc Mélenchon undertakes to get the country out of this source of energy as quickly as possible. https://then24.com/2022/02/11/for-jadot-only-dictators-and-in-france-the-far-right-support-nuclear-power/
Macron promises 52 billion euros for 6 new EPR nuclear reactors – but this ”nuclear renaissance” is far from certain
Building at least 6 new generation EPRs, a challenge for the nuclear industry. It will be a “renaissance of French nuclear power”, promised Emmanuel Macron, but the construction of at least six new EPRs represents a real challenge for a weakened sector, which remains on the bitter failure of Flamanville.
The president announced Thursday in Belfort six new generation EPR2 reactors, with a first commissioning by 2035. To this is added the study for eight more copies. The investment will be “52 billion euros for 6 new EPR reactors, plus studies on eight possible new reactors, plus research on modular reactors”, quantified Friday the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire.
“It is an intention but there are a certain number of important stages which will take five years”, underlined Valérie Faudon, the general delegate of the French Company of nuclear energy (SFEN). Before even starting work for an EPR, it is indeed necessary to organize a public inquiry on the first site envisaged, that of Penly (Seine-Maritime) and to obtain a certain number of administrative
authorizations. Emmanuel Macron thus envisages a start of construction in 2028. “The deadline of 2028 that he drew is not impossible to meet but is already in itself optimistic vis-à-vis the various stages to be crossed”,judges Yves Marignac , nuclear expert from the NégaWatt association.
Connaissance des energies 11th Feb 2022
Macron goes for a new nuclear renaissance, despite the industry’s woes in France
France to build up to 14 new nuclear reactors by 2050, says Macron. French president says ‘renaissance’ of atomic energy industry will help end country’s reliance on fossil fuels, Guardian, Angelique Chrisafis in Paris 11 Feb 22, Emmanuel Macron has announced a “renaissance” for the French nuclear industry with a vast programme to build as many as 14 new reactors, arguing that it would help end the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and make France carbon neutral by 2050.
“What our country needs … is the rebirth of France’s nuclear industry,” Macron said in a speech in the eastern industrial town of Belfort, in which he lauded the country’s technological prowess.
The centrist French president, who is expected to announce his campaign for re-election this month, is conscious of a growing debate about energy ahead of this spring’s presidential vote as costs to consumers rise. Environmental issues are also a growing concern among French voters.
….. recent attempts to build new-generation reactors to replace older models have become mired in cost overruns and delays.
Presidential candidates on the right have supported more nuclear power plants saying France should have “sovereignty” over its electricity, while detractors on the left have warned of the cost and complexity of building new reactors. Environmentalists have raised safety concerns over radioactive waste that remains deadly for tens of thousands of years.
……… He also announced a major acceleration in the development of solar and offshore wind power. He said France had no choice but to rely on renewables and nuclearand that the country would also have to consume significantly less energy in the next decades.
He said he would seek to extend the lives of all existing French nuclear plants where it was safe to do so.
The announcement comes at a difficult time for debt-laden, state-controlled energy provider, EDF, which faces delays and budget overuns on new nuclear plants in France and Britain, and corrosion problems in some of its ageing reactors.
Macron announced the construction of at least six new reactors by EDF by 2050, with an option for another eight.
His recent focus on nuclear power marks a policy shift from the start of his presidency, when he had promised to reduce its share in France’s energy mix.
The French government lobbied hard and successfully to get the European Commission to label nuclear power “green” this month in a landmark review which means it can attract funding as a climate-friendly power source.
The Green presidential candidate, Yannick Jadot, said it was a moral imperative to progressively end France’s dependence on nuclear to protect the climate and French people’s safety. He said Macron’s project was backward-looking and would condemn France to a kind of “energy and industrial obsolescence”. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/10/france-to-build-up-to-14-new-nuclear-reactors-by-2050-says-macron
1 This Month
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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