The Bugey and Saint-Alban sites could reduce their production due to the heat.
The nuclear reactors at the Bugey (Ain) and Saint-Alban (Isère) power station could reduce their production this weekend, due to the expected high temperatures and the warming of the waters of the Rhône.
PRETENDING NUCLEAR IS NOT INTERMITTENT IS POINTLESS – REPORTS EVERY YEAR SINCE 2015 IN FRANCE 
This report highlights how nuclear energy systems are becoming more intermittent due to the planet’s warming and increasing CO2 levels.
Here’s an analysis of the key points:
- Impact of High Temperatures on Nuclear Power Production: The report discusses how nuclear power production at the Bugey and Saint-Alban sites in France may be reduced due to expected high temperatures. High temperatures can have several adverse effects on nuclear power plants, such as reducing the efficiency of cooling systems and potentially exceeding safety thresholds.
- Warming Waters of the Rhône River: The report also mentions that the warming of the Rhône River’s waters is a contributing factor. Nuclear power plants often use nearby bodies of water for cooling purposes. As the planet warms, these water sources may become warmer, making it more challenging to cool the reactors effectively. This can lead to production restrictions and reduced output.
- Environmental Constraints and Low Demand: The report mentions previous instances in July and August when the Bugey nuclear reactor had to be shut down due to a combination of “environmental constraints and low demand for electricity.” This suggests that the intermittency of nuclear energy is not solely related to climate conditions but also demand fluctuations.
- Specific Thresholds for Cooling Water: The report explains that nuclear power plants have specific temperature rise and flow thresholds for the water they use for cooling. These thresholds are in place to protect the local fauna and flora. However, exceptionally high temperatures, as expected with climate change, can bring the cooling water close to or exceed these limits, necessitating production adjustments.
- EDF’s Response to Climate Change: EDF, the company operating these nuclear power plants, has been adjusting its production to respect thermal discharge limits in response to climate change, droughts, and heat waves. This adaptation reflects the broader trend in the energy industry as it grapples with the consequences of global warming.
- Long-term Climate Trends: The report mentions that EDF has observed restrictions on production increasing by 0.3% per year for around twenty years due to climatic reasons. This illustrates the gradual and long-term impact of climate change on the operability of nuclear power plants.
source
https://c.leprogres.fr/…/chaleur-les-sites-du-bugey-et…
Vinci and Bouygues among six firms fined €31m for bid rigging in nuclear work
KHI By Neil Gerrard08 September 2023
France’s competition watchdog, Autorité de la Concurrence, has fined six companies a total of €31 million for bid rigging relating to tenders for work at a nuclear site in the country.
Nuvia Process (a subsidiary of Vinci Group), ENDEL (formerly and Engie subsidiary), Bouygues Construction Expertises (BCEN), SNEF and SPIE Nucléaire are all subject to the penalties.
The Autorité granted a sixth company, ONET Group, leniency and it has received an exemption from financial penalties.
The fines come after dawn raids at the companies prompted by suspicions of anticompetitive practices when it came to tendering for work at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission’s (CEA) Marcoule nuclear site in the Gard region……………………………………………………………………………………………………
In a statement, the Autorité said, “These practices are among the most serious breaches of competition rules, as they aim to remove the advantages that consumers and the public entity are entitled to expect from a competitive economy, and instead benefit the perpetrators.
“Disrupting the normal course of tendering procedures by hindering the free market pricing process and misleading the public authority as to the reality and extent of competition between tenderers, is detrimental to the sector in which such practices take place, and constitutes a serious breach of economic public policy.”
Nuvia’s penalty amounted to €13.9 million, while Endel received a fine of €11 million and BCEN a fine of €6.2 million.
SNEF and SPIE Nucléaire received lesser fines of €20,000 and €10,000 respectively.
The Autorité said it applied a mark-up to Nuvia, Endel and BCEN as they are all part of conglomerates. It also took into account the “repeated nature” of the offences committed by the Vinci and Bouygues groups. https://www.khl.com/news/vinci-and-bouygues-among-six-firms-fined-31m-for-bid-rigging-in-nuclear-work/8031517.article
French energy regulator: Nuclear alone not enough for carbon neutrality
“renewable energies to be brought on stream as quickly as possible, as there will be no new reactors in operation by 2035” to meet the need to decarbonise the energy mix.
By Clara Bauer-Babef and Paul Messad | EURACTIV.fr 27 Aug 23 https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/french-energy-regulator-nuclear-alone-not-enough-for-carbon-neutrality/
If France is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it must integrate renewables into its energy mix, according to the head of the country’s energy regulator, RTE, who believes nuclear power alone will not be enough.
As part of its EU targets, France has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 and contribute to the bloc’s efforts to cut greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030.
“To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, nuclear power alone will not be enough,” said Xavier Piechaczyk, Chairman of RTE, on France Inter radio on Saturday.
Instead, France needs to diversify further its energy mix, which is currently 40% nuclear, 28% oil, 16% natural gas, 14% renewables and 2% coal, according to the French Ministry for Ecological Transition.
All the more so as “energy consumption will fall, but electricity consumption will rise to replace fossil fuels”, with a 25% increase in decarbonised electricity, writes RTE in its reference report on the French energy mix in 2050.
As such, Piechaczyk calls for “renewable energies to be brought on stream as quickly as possible, as there will be no new reactors in operation by 2035” to meet the need to decarbonise the energy mix.
France plans to build six new small nuclear reactors (EPR), although these will not be operational until 2035. Construction for the first reactor is only set to start in 2027.
“France is struck by a pathology, which is to spend its time arguing between nuclear versus renewable: it’s not the first question to be asked”, Piechaczyk said.
Piechaczyk referred in particular to the conflict between the radical left and ecologists, who are opposed to nuclear power, and the presidential majority and the right, supported by the Communists, who favour the development of nuclear power.
(Paul Messad & Clara Bauer-Babef | EURACTIV.fr)
France heatwave curbs cooling water supply to St Alban nuclear plant
PARIS, Aug 23 (Reuters) – A heatwave curbing the availability of cooling water has prompted a production warning from operator EDF for the Saint Alban nuclear power plant on the Rhone river in eastern France for Aug. 26-27.
Similar warnings have been issued this summer at plants including those at Bugey and Tricastin, which are also on the Rhone……………………….more https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-heatwave-curbs-cooling-water-supply-st-alban-nuclear-plant-2023-08-23/
French Winter Power Twice as Pricey as Germany’s on Nuclear Woes
By Todd Gillespie, April 19, 2023 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-19/french-winter-power-twice-as-pricey-as-germany-s-on-nuclear-woes?leadSource=uverify%20wall#xj4y7vzkg
France’s weakened nuclear power output means the cost of its electricity for next winter is more than twice as expensive as Germany’s, as concerns over the health of the country’s reactors persist.
The “massive” gap of nearly €250 ($273) per megawatt-hour between French and German prices is because traders are pricing in more risk as they await updates on Electricite de France SA’s struggles with its aging atomic fleet, according to analysts at Engie SA’s EnergyScan. “No participants want to risk being short next winter,” they wrote.
French power for the first quarter of 2024 is trading at €416 per megawatt-hour, more than double Germany’s rate of €169. Normally a power exporter, France’s atomic generation has been gradually returning to service but still remains below historical averages.
France, which relies on nuclear energy for most of its electricity, is expected to remain heavily dependent on power imports during the winter months to meet its demand. Meanwhile, Germany closed its last nuclear plants Saturday after years of political tension over phasing out the technology, but is still very reliant on polluting coal-fired power.
French nuclear availability was at 62% on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nuclear output on Wednesday was above its level for this time last year after weeks of historic lows.
— With assistance by Josefine Fokuhl and Francois De Beaupuy
French nuclear watchdog ASN issues first lifespan extension to 40-year-old reactor
French nuclear watchdog ASN issued a decision allowing for the continued
operation of state-owned utility EDF’s Tricastin 1 nuclear reactor in
southern France, the first lifetime extension granted to a French reactor
after 40 years of operation.
In a decision published on Aug. 10 and seen by
Reuters on Tuesday, ASN granted the reactor an extension until its next
review, so for another ten years. Some 32 of France’s fleet of 56 reactors
are up for their fourth ten-yearly inspection this decade, leaving French
energy production reliant on securing a swathe of reactor extensions for
another ten years.
Reuters 22nd Aug 2023
EDF Warns of French Nuclear Output Cuts in Weekend Heat Wave
Bloomberg, By Francois De Beaupuy, August 22, 2023
Electricite de France SA will probably have to reduce nuclear output over the coming weekend as a heat wave affecting a large part of the country warms rivers used for cooling some of its reactors.
Due to the high temperatures forecast on Rhone river, production restrictions are likely to affect production at its Tricastin power plant — where two of its four 900-megawatt reactors are already………….(Subscribers only) more https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-21/edf-warns-of-french-nuclear-output-cuts-in-weekend-heat-wave#xj4y7vzkg
French cruise ship makes rendezvous with Russian nuclear icebreaker near North Pole
Barents Observer, By Atle Staalesen August 20, 2023
The meeting between the two vessels took place in remote Arctic waters not far from the North Pole.
Video made by passengers onboard the 50 Let Pobedy and shared on social media shows the two vessels trading greetings and sailing side by side through thick sea-ice.
The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker is on the way to the North Pole as part of an expedition for students. Shortly after its meeting with the tourist ship, it encountered also two other ships currently sailing in the area. According to ship operator Rosatom, the 50 Let Pobedy met with Arctic research station Severny Polyus, as well as research ship Akademik Tryoshnikov.
The latter ship had sailed all the way from St.Petersburg with new crew and equipment for the drifting station that is on a two-year expedition across the ice.
The Le Commandant Charcot is the new vessel built for cruise ship operator Ponant. It is classified as icebreaker and can make independent voyages to the North Pole. In 2021, it was first hybrid-electric luxury cruise ship to make it to the North Pole.
The ship set out on a 16-days expedition from Reykjavik in early August. It sails to the geographic North Pole and ends up in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
It is not a voyage for the regular man and woman. The starting price per person is €31,485…………………………………………… https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/arctic/2023/08/french-cruise-ship-makes-rendezvous-russian-nuclear-icebreaker-near-north-pole
France and Russia co-operate on developing a plant in Russia for processing depleted uranium
The installation of equipment has begun at TVEL’s JSC Electrochemical Plant
(ECP) in Zelenogorsk in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region for W2-ECP, the
country’s second plant for the processing of depleted uranium hexafluoride.
The plant is part of a long-term project to manage and make use of depleted
uranium stocks in Russia. The plant, with a processing capacity of 10,000
tonnes per year, is being supplied by Orano Projets – the engineering arm
of France’s nuclear fuel cycle specialist Orano – under a EUR40 million
(USD44 million) contract signed in December 2019.
Under the terms of the contract, Orano will supply the equipment for the construction of the
deconversion facility, as well as providing technical assistance in its
installation and commissioning. The first equipment for the plant arrived
at the construction site in eastern Siberia from France in December 2021.
The project was originally expected to be completed in 2022. The W2-ECP
plant will accept deliveries of depleted uranium hexafluoride gas (DUF6 –
sometimes called DUHF) and deconvert these to uranium tetrafluoride, with
anhydrous hydrofluoric acid being produced as a by-product. Deconversion
transforms the toxic and somewhat corrosive gaseous DUF6 enrichment
tailings into a stable powdered oxide form fit for long-term storage,
transport or final disposal.
World Nuclear News 16th Aug 2023
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Construction-of-second-Russian-deconversion-plant
Public participation for the Flamanville EPR reactor commissioning project (INB 167)
ASN ………………………………………… TERMS OF THE CONSULTATION
Consultation reference [2023.06.39]
Public consultation on the Flamanville EPR reactor commissioning application, with the full application file made available, will take place from 5 June to 15 September 2023 on the ASN website.
Any additional relevant information, in particular with regard to the administrative procedure implemented, may be requested from the Nuclear Safety Authority, the competent authority to make the decision, by electronic means at the address info@asn.fr , or at its premises, 15 rue Louis-Lejeune – CS 70013 – 92541 Montrouge Cedex – by appointment on 01 46 16 42 74.
The paper file can be consulted on request and by prior appointment with the Prefecture of La Manche (on 02 33 75 47 39), which coordinates the availability on its premises, in the sub-prefectures, in the France Services area of the town of Les Pieux and in the town hall of Flamanville.
Observations and proposals from the public can be made on the ASN website for the duration of the consultation. As the project is subject to environmental assessment, the opinion of the Environmental Authority, EDF’s brief in response to this opinion and the opinions of the local authorities concerned by the project can also be consulted on the ASN website.
ASN will take into account the observations and proposals of the public within the framework of the current examination of the commissioning application for the installation. In the event that it considers giving a favorable response to this request, it plans to consult the public on its draft decision authorizing the commissioning…………………………………………….. https://www.asn.fr/l-asn-reglemente/consultations-du-public/mise-a-participation-du-public-pour-le-projet-de-mise-en-service-du-reacteur-epr-de-flamanville#documents-a-consulter
EDF Sees Increased Risk of Delay to New UK Atomic Reactors, financial doubts
Francois de Beaupuy, Bloomberg News, 27 Jul 23, https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/edf-sees-increased-risk-of-delay-to-new-uk-atomic-reactors-1.1951285
– Electricite de France SA said the risk of further delay to two nuclear reactors in southwest England has risen because of construction setbacks.
EDF flagged last year that the plants may start 15 months late. The reactors at Hinkley Point have been touted by the UK government as sparking a nuclear renaissance, boosting energy independence and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. But the work has been plagued by multiple holdups and cost overruns.
The increased risk of a 15-month delay is due to “performances on civil works and challenges on mechanical, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning,” EDF said Thursday in an earnings presentation. “Progress is below the planned trajectory and action plans have been set.”
The reactors, costing as much as £32 billion ($41.5 billion), are due to start operating in 2027 and 2028. The ballooning budget has fueled controversy over the vast sums needed for new nuclear developments, even as other low-carbon technologies such as offshore wind have also faced inflationary pressures.
Hinkley Point’s setbacks come as EDF seeks to arrange financing for a second pair of atomic plants — at Sizewell in eastern England — that would use the same design. Delays and cost overruns may deter investors who also face increasing demands for capital from renewables, which provide swifter returns.
The debt-laden French utility has a 66.5% stake in Hinkley Point, while China General Nuclear Power Corp. owns the rest. As funding requirements now exceed contractual commitments, shareholders will be asked to provide additional equity voluntarily starting in the fourth quarter.
“The probability that CGN will not fund the project beyond its committed equity cap is high,” EDF said Thursday. “Financing solutions are being investigated, in the event that CGN does not allocate its voluntary equity.”
France needs to invest 25 billion euros ($28 billion) each year to maintain its nuclear energy programme
EDF will need to invest around 25 billion euros ($28 billion) each year to
keep its nuclear fleet and network in shape and build new reactors required
for France’s energy transition, the company’s CEO said on Wednesday.
Grilled by lawmakers during a hearing before the French National Assembly’s
economic affairs committee, EDF’s Luc Remont said France also needed to
rethink parts of the company’s business model and its electricity tariff
policy to allow the utility to boost investments.
Reuters 19th July 2023
Nuclear Notebook: French nuclear weapons, 2023
Bulletin, By Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda, Eliana Johns, July 17, 2023
France’s nuclear arsenal has remained stable over the past decade and contains approximately 290 warheads……….. Nearly all of France’s warheads are deployed or operationally available for deployment on short notice.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
France’s nuclear doctrine
Successive heads of state, including Presidents Sarkozy, Hollande, and now Macron, have periodically described the role of French nuclear weapons. The Defense Ministry’s 2017 Defense and National Security Strategic Review reiterated that the nuclear doctrine is “strictly defensive,” and that using nuclear weapons “would only be conceivable in extreme circumstances of legitimate self-defense,” involving France’s vital interests. What exactly these “vital interests” are, however, remain unclear.
In February 2020, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France’s “vital interests now have a European dimension,” and sought to engage the European Union on the “role played by France’s nuclear deterrence in [its] collective security” (Élysée 2020). Macron clarified in October 2022 that these vital interests “would not be at stake if there was a nuclear ballistic attack in Ukraine or in the region,” apparently attempting to avoid being seen as expanding French nuclear doctrine (France TV 2022). Explicitly ruling out a nuclear role in case of Russian nuclear escalation in Ukraine appeared to contradict France’s statement at the August 2022 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which explained that “for deterrence to work, the circumstances under which nuclear weapons would [or would not] be used are not, and should not be, precisely defined, so as not to enable a potential aggressor to calculate the risk inherent in a potential attack” (2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 2022).
France does not have a no-first-use policy and reserves the right to conduct a “final warning” limitednuclear strike to signal to an adversary that they have crossed a line—or to signal the French resolve to conduct further nuclear strikes if necessary—in an attempt to “reestablish deterrence” (Élysée 2020; Tertrais 2020). Although France is a member of NATO, its nuclear forces are not part of the Alliance’s integrated military command structure.
If an aggressor is not deterred, President Macron explained in 2020, France’s “nuclear forces are capable of inflicting absolutely unacceptable damages upon that State’s centers of power: its political, economic and military nerve centers” (Élysée 2020).
…………………..The possibility of using the nuclear weapon first is assumed: our doctrine is neither that of no first use nor that of the sole purpose, according to which nuclear weapons are only addressed to the nuclear threat … Nuclear deterrence does not seek to win a war or prevent losing one” (Burkhard 2023; our translation).
…………………………………………………………………………… Under President Macron, France has engaged in a long-term modernization and strengthening of its nuclear forces.
……………………………………..Submarine-launched ballistic missiles
The French force of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) constitutes the backbone of the French nuclear deterrent.
………………………………………………….Air-launched cruise missiles
The second leg of France’s nuclear arsenal consists of nuclear ASMPA (air-sol moyenne portée-amélioré) air-launched cruise missiles for delivery by fighter-bombers operated by the Strategic Air Forces and the Naval Nuclear Aviation Force.
……………………………………………………………The French Ministry of the Armed Forces is also developing a successor to the ASMPA-R: a fourth-generation air-to-surface nuclear missile (air—sol nucléaire de 4e génération, ASN4G) with enhanced stealth and maneuverability that is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in 2035 and remain in service beyond the 2050s (Assemblée Nationale 2023)…………………………………..
The nuclear weapons complex
France’s nuclear weapons complex is managed by the Direction des Applications Militaires (DAM), a department within the Nuclear Energy Commission (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies renouvelables, or CEA). DAM is responsible for research, design, manufacture, operational maintenance, and dismantlement of nuclear warheads.
…………………………………………….more https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-07/nuclear-notebook-french-nuclear-weapons-2023/
How much water do French nuclear plants use?
Figures showing that the cooling of reactors could capture 30% of water resources have been removed from the site of the Ministry of Environment.
Le Monde ,By Perrine Mouterde, March 26, 2023,
How much do nuclear power plants contribute to total water consumption in France? This simple question no longer seems to have a clear answer. At the root of the confusion lies the Ministry of Environmental Transition’s removal of a background paper on the resourcing and use of water in France on around March 10. According to this fact sheet from the statistical service, power plant cooling represented the second most water-consuming activity in the country (31%), behind agriculture (45%) and ahead of drinking water (21%) and industrial use (4%). The annual volume of water consumed in mainland France, over the period 2008-2018, was estimated at 5.3 billion cubic meters.
In the midst of the review of the parliamentary bill to accelerate the construction of new reactors, the figure of 31% was being used by opponents of atomic energy to demonstrate that this energy source was not adapted to climate change. “Once and for all, let’s say it, simply and firmly: at this rate, there will soon not be enough water in our rivers to cool the nuclear power plants!,” stated Marine Tondelier – the national secretary of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV, Greens) – on March 7, based on this data.
Three days later, the Ministry of Environmental Transition………….(subscribers only)
France to decide on nuclear financing by end of 2024
The French government will decide at the end of 2024 on the regulatory and
financing model for its nuclear revival programme, economy minister Bruno
Le Maire said late on Wednesday.
Montel 13th July 2023
https://www.montelnews.com/news/1510337/france-to-decide-on-nuclear-financing-by-end-of-2024
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