France wants to cut its electricity exports to UK as its aging nuclear reactors are limited, with maintenance issues
France requests electricity exports to UK are cut as Europe’s energy
crisis deepens. France and Britain exchange energy across the Channel via
interconnections, but France’s nuclear power output has taken a hit in
recent months. France’s electricity network operator RTE has reportedly
asked the National Grid if it could slash its scheduled exports to Britain
in half between 8am and 9am this morning. It is said it struggled to cope
with surging demand amid its own power issues, and cold temperatures. The
power output issues were reportedly brought on by a lethal combination of
the plunging mercury, strikes across its nuclear sector and delayed
maintenance on its fleet of ageing nuclear reactors.
Express 12th Dec 2022
Why nuclear-powered France faces power outage risks
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/why-nuclear-powered-france-faces-power-outage-risks-2022-12-09 PARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) – France is bracing for possible power outages in the coming days as falling temperatures push up demand while state-controlled nuclear group EDF struggles to bring more production on line.
WHY CAN’T FRANCE MEET DEMAND?
France is one of the most nuclear-powered countries in the world, typically producing over 70% of its electricity with its fleet of 56 reactors and providing about 15% of Europe’s total power through exports.
However, EDF (EDF.PA) has had to take a record number of its ageing reactors offline for maintenance this year just as Europe is struggling to cope with cuts in Russian natural gas supplies used for generating electricity.
That has left France’s nuclear output at a 30-year low, forcing France to import electricity and prepare plans for possible blackouts as a cold snap fuels demand for heating.
WHAT ARE EDF’S MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS?
While EDF normally has a number of its reactors offline for maintenance, it has had far more than usual this year due to what is known as stress corrosion on pipes in some reactors.
At the request of France’s nuclear safety watchdog, EDF is in the process of inspecting and making repairs across its fleet since detecting cracks in the welding connecting pipes in one reactor at the end of last year.
Years of under-investment in the nuclear sector mean that there is precious little spare capacity to meet demand while reactors are offline for maintenance.
France also lacks specialised welders and other workers in sufficient numbers to be able to make repairs fast enough to get reactors back online.
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
In the very short term, there is little that can be done to get more reactors online faster, leaving the government to plan for voluntary cuts at peak demand periods and limited forced blackouts.
Meanwhile, EDF and others in the French nuclear industry are on a recruitment drive for the next generation of welders, pipe-fitters and boiler makers, going so far as to set up a new school to train them.
President Emmanuel Macron wants a new push in nuclear energy and has committed to building six new reactors at a cost his government estimates at nearly 52 billion euros ($55 billion).
As a first step, the government is in the process of buying out EDF’s minority shareholders and fully nationalising the debt-laden group, which it says is necessary to make the long-term investments in new reactors.
($1 = 0.9471 euros)
France: EDF extends nuclear outages by up to 42 days
EDF extends nuclear outages by up to 42 days (4.6 GW). EDF has extended
outages at its Chooz 2 (1.5 GW) and three other nuclear reactors in France
with a cumulative 4.64 GW capacity by up to 42 days.
Montel 5th Dec 2022
https://www.montelnews.com/news/1373972/edf-extends-nuclear-outages-by-up-to-42-days-46-gw
Macron: Russia Needs Security Guarantees ‘Essential’ To Ending The War
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/macron-russia-needs-security-guarantees-which-are-essential-ending-war BY TYLER DURDEN 6 Dec 22
As we detailed earlier, a clear division is arising between Europe and the United States over Washington’s more hawkish and hardline stance on resisting all negotiations with Russia, but instead which is centered on encouraging Kiev to pursuing ‘victory’ on the battlefield.
“The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons,” one senior European official bluntly complained to Politico last month.
Underscoring that Europe is more ready to pursue avenues of negotiated settlement in Ukraine, over the weekend French President Emmanuel Macron urged for the West to take seriously Russia’s security concerns regarding NATO expansion near its border. He called for greater willingness to give Moscow the “guarantees” necessary for negotiations to be successful. He called them ‘essential’ if the West wants to get serious about talks and peaceful settlement.
“We need to prepare what we are ready to do, how we protect our allies and member states, and how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table,” President Macron said in an interview that aired Saturday.
That’s when he underlined something which a mere months ago would elicit rage and accusations of ‘pro-Kremlin’ stooge among Western mainstream punditry. “One of the essential points we must address — as President Putin has always said — is the fear that NATO comes right up to its doors, and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia,” Macron said.
The timing of the remarks was interesting given the interview was recorded while he was on the US on a state visit to the White House, and it aired as he departed.
According to The New York Times, “The interview with TF1, a French television network, appeared sympathetic to the concerns of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and was immediately picked up prominently by TASS, the Russian state news agency. It prompted an angry reaction in Ukraine.”
While there was no immediate reaction from the Biden administration, the Ukrainian presidency’s office said such negotiations and security guarantees would only be possible “after tribunal, conviction of war authors and war criminals” and the “imposition of large-scale reparations.”
Separately, David Arakhamia, the chief of the Ukrainian negotiating group involved in short-lived ceasefire talks in the opening months of the war, also echoed that Russian forces must first “leave the territory of our country; pay reparations; punish all war criminals; voluntarily give up nuclear weapons.”
The Times further points out that Russian state media was quick to amplify Macron’s interview statements:
Responding to a tweet from TASS featuring Mr. Macron’s remarks, Nicolas Tenzer, a prominent French political scientist and essayist, commented: “Devastating.”
During the summer months and prior, European leaders seemed to tilt toward Washington’s more hardline approach to the conflict, but with the energy crisis becoming more acute and now headed into the winter months it appears a new consensus is emerging.
As another example, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with President Vladimir Putin on Friday, with the Kremlin side later saying that Scholz admitted the West’s policy on Ukraine is “destructive” and that Berlin may pursue a rethinking of its policy
Macron pushes a “renaissance” while French nuclear flops
A farce that would make Feydeau blush — Beyond Nuclear International
A farce that would make Feydeau blush — Beyond Nuclear International
Warning of power cuts for France, as nuclear reactors are working at half capacity
France could face the risk of power cuts this winter when electricity
supply may not be enough to meet demand, Xavier Piechaczyk, the head of
grid operator RTE, said on Thursday, citing the price to pay for slow
renewables and a nuclear energy infrastructure working at half capacity.
There is a risk of red-alert days this winter, but it would mostly depend
on the weather, Piechaczyk told Franceinfo radio today, noting that power
cuts are not necessarily “inevitable”. Due to lower nuclear generation
availability, France will import electricity this winter from most of its
neighbors, including Benelux, the manager added.
Oil Price 1st Dec 2022
Emmanuel Macron picks a bad time to promote France’s nuclear nuclear technology in a marketing tour to USA
With 40 percent of France’s nuclear power plants offline, there could hardly be a more awkward time to promote the country’s know-how
Macron to promote nuclear energy in U.S., as industry faces crisis in France, By Rick Noack, November 29, 2022, PARIS — As French President Emmanuel Macron makes the rounds in Washington starting Wednesday for the first state visit of the Biden administration, high on his agenda are his plans for a nuclear energy “renaissance.” His entourage includes the major players from France’s nuclear energy industry, who will be looking to the French leader to help boost the development and export of their technology, including smaller and more versatile reactors.
But there could hardly be a more awkward time to promote French nuclear know-how.
While Macron was preparing to head to Washington, France was relying on planes traveling in the opposite direction to prevent its nuclear-reliant power grid from collapsing. U.S. and Canadian contractors have been flown in to help after safety concerns forced the closure of half of the country’s nuclear power plants. Last week, 23 out of 56 were still offline, due to concerns over corrosion cracks and an accumulation of pandemic-related inspection delays.
………….. instead of bolstering its position as an energy exporter, France has had to import electricity from Germany — the country hit hardest by the shift away from Russia. And Britain, which normally depends on France for energy to get through winter, is talking about having to encourage people to keep their ovens and dishwashers off to avoid blackouts.
Other French neighbors, including Belgium, Switzerland and parts of Italy, may be under even more pressure as a result of the French reactor problems, said Clement Bouilloux, country manager for France at energy consultancy EnAppSys.
“Everyone was relying on the French nuclear power plants,” he said.
The situation has tarnished France’s reputation as a nuclear power leader and may have contributed to the country missing out on key contracts. Only weeks ago, France’s state-owned energy company EDF lost the first part of a $40 billion contract for Poland’s first nuclear power plant to U.S. company Westinghouse………………………………………………………..
Macron has acknowledged that the French industry has “fallen behind,” but he has defended its ability to recover, striking deals on nuclear energy cooperation in recent months with countries including India and Britain.
Macron is scheduled to attend a nuclear energy session on Wednesday, alongside four French cabinet members and several executives from the country’s major nuclear energy firms and its public regulator, the Élysée Palace said last week.
A French official added Monday that one area where France anticipates possible mutual interests is the development of small modular reactors (SMRs)…………….. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/29/macron-us-state-visit-nuclear-france/
France’s EDF, Credit Agricole sign 1 bln euro nuclear loan
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frances-edf-credit-agricole-sign-1-bln-euro-nuclear-loan-2022-11-18/ LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) – EDF (EDF.PA) and Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) said on Friday they had signed a 1 billion euro ($1.04 billion) loan to finance the maintenance of nuclear power plants in France.
The loan is part of EDF’s major refit programme to improve the security and extend the operating life of nuclear reactors beyond 40 years.
The deal is the first transaction in which the funds will be entirely dedicated to investments in EDF’s nuclear activities, Credit Agricole and EDF said in a statement.
As Europe Quits Russian Gas, Half of France’s Nuclear Plants Are Off-Line
France’s state-backed nuclear operator is scrambling to overcome a monthslong crisis to get as many reactors as possible restarted before winter sets in.
New York Times, By Liz Alderman. Reporting from Paris, Nov. 16, 2022
An army of engineers has fanned out through nuclear power plants across France in recent months, inspecting reactors for signs of wear and tear. Hundreds of expert welders have been recruited to repair problems found in cooling circuits. Stress tests are being conducted to check for safety problems.
As Europe braces for a winter without Russian gas, France is moving fast to repair a series of problems plaguing its atomic fleet. A record 26 of its 56 reactors are off-line for maintenance or repairs after the worrisome discovery of cracks and corrosion in some pipes used to cool reactor cores.
The crisis is upending the role that France has long played as Europe’s biggest producer of nuclear energy, raising questions about how much its nuclear power arsenal will be able to help bridge the continent’s looming crunch……………………………………………
France’s nuclear power crunch has become so acute that Mr. Macron is preparing to have the government take over the remaining 16 percent of EDF that it doesn’t already own, at a cost of nearly 10 billion euros ($10.3 billion).
The company, which is nearly €45 billion in debt, has tumbled further into financial difficulty and announced that its 2022 profit would drop by €29 billion because of the problems with its reactors, as well as a government effort to force EDF to provide artificially cheap electricity for households and businesses.
Even as EDF is rushing to comply with the demand for accelerated repairs, the company last week cut its 2022 nuclear power production forecast. The announcement caused the cost of French and European electricity to spike.
Herculean efforts to repair corrosion in pipes that cool the cores of four reactors were taking longer than expected, the company said. Those reactors now will not restart until January or February.
A strike late last month by French nuclear plant workers demanding higher wages to keep up with inflation was another blow. EDF said it was already behind in performing required maintenance on several aging reactors because of coronavirus lockdowns when the labor action put it further behind.
The company’s recent troubles began late last year, as it started moving through that backlog. The inspections unearthed alarming safety issues — especially corrosion and micro-cracks in systems that cool a reactor’s radioactive core — at an older-generation nuclear reactor in southwest France called Civaux 1. As EDF scoured its nuclear facilities, it found that 16 reactors, most of them newer-generation models, faced similar risks and closed them down.
EDF made to reactors designed by Westinghouse Electric that EDF had used in its older-generation plants. Bernard Doroszczuk, the head of France’s Nuclear Safety Authority, testified to French lawmakers this summer that the modifications, used for later-generation reactors, appeared to have caused abnormal corrosion and stress on critical cooling pipes.
The crisis has sent French nuclear power production to a 30-year low, generating less than half of the 61 gigawatts that the reactors can produce. (EDF also generates electricity with gas, coal and renewable technologies.) Even when more reactors are restarted in the coming months, French nuclear output will be around 45 gigawatts — lower than usual this winter, compounding the impact of Russia’s gas cutoff.
The situation “increases the risk of supply shortages for the coming winter, with availability standing at record-low levels for this time of the year,” Fabian Ronningen, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, an independent consultancy, said in a note to clients.
The energy shortfall has turned France, once the continent’s biggest exporter of energy, into a net importer this year. A quarter of Europe’s electricity comes from nuclear power plants in about a dozen countries, with France producing more than half the total………………………………..
But even critical repairs must be monitored. EDF said a radioactive leak occurred this month during a hydraulic test on the main cooling circuit of the Civaux 1 nuclear power plant. EDF had spent months laboring to repair the corroded cooling pipes, using new technologies including ultrasound and welding robots that don’t have radiation exposure limits.
EDF said that there was no safety risk from that leak, and that no radioactivity was detected outside of it. But the episode is likely to delay the plant’s reopening beyond a planned Jan. 8 date, adding to the nuclear park’s woes. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/business/nuclear-power-france.html
Image
Image
Stress corrosion continues to trouble the French nuclear fleet
This week EDF updated its expectations for its nuclear fleet for this
winter, downgrading its output forecasts to 275-285 TWh, compared to the
previous estimate of 280-300 TWh.
The main driver of the downgraded
forecasts is a refusal by the French nuclear regulator, Autorité de
Sȗreté Nucléaire (“ASN”) to allow EDF to re-start number of reactors
with stress corrosion problems, in line with the planned schedule: Cattenom
1 (1.3 GW) will be offline for a further three and a half months until 26
February 2023; Chooz 1 (1.5 GW) will remain closed for about three months
until 29 January 2023; Penly 2 (1.33 GW) will be delayed by more than two
months until 29 January 2023; Cattenom 3 (1.3 GW) will be closed for a
further two and a half months until 26 February 2023. A couple of other
reactors are likely to have minor delays to their re-start schedules.
Watt Logic 10th Nov 2022
Cracks found in feedwater pumps at Finland’s OL3 nuclear plant
by Kerry Hebden, 9 Nov 22
CRACKS of a few centimetres have been identified in all four of the feedwater pumps of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR nuclear power plant in Finland, less than a year after the facility attained first criticality.
Owned and operated by TVO, the Olkiluoto plant consists of two boiling water reactors, each producing 890 MW of electricity, and a third EPR (Evolutionary Power Reactor), dubbed Unit 3 or OL3. The EPR is a “Generation III+” nuclear reactor, “that benefits from significant technological advances in nuclear and occupational safety”, said Framatome (formerly known as Avera NP), the plant’s main contractor.
Unit 3 started construction in 2005, however it only began generating electricity in March 2022 after construction was repeatedly delayed. It was expected to begin commercial operation in September, but after the unit’s boron pumps started unexpectedly during a routine shutdown in April, and following the discovery of material in the turbine’s steam reheater that had detached from the steam guide plates in May, the firm pushed back the start date to December.
Now though, the further damage that has been observed in the inner parts of the feedwater pumps of the OL3 turbine plant, could delay progress further.
The large feedwater pumps are used to pump water from the feedwater tank into the steam generators. TVO said the cracks detected in the impellers of the pumps have no impact on nuclear safety, but so far the cause of the damage, which is currently being investigated in several different laboratories, has yet to be determined. …………………………….
One of Finland’s two nuclear power plants, the other being the VVER Loviisa plant, the Olkiluoto facility has been plagued by issues for years. Built by Areva NP for a fixed price of €3bn (US$3bn), the firm estimated in 2012 that the full cost of building the OL3 reactor would amount to around €8.5bn due to the frequent setbacks encountered during its construction.
The delays led to a bitter dispute between Areva and TVO, with each seeking compensation from the other through the International Court of Arbitration – a scenario which resulted in Areva paying hundreds of millions of euros in compensation to TVO.
Meanwhile the facility’s other reactors have also experienced problems. In July, OL1 was also temporarily shut down due to damaged fuel elements, and in December 2020, the OL2 reactor automatically shut down when a valve failure caused hot water to reach filters in the reactor’s cleaning system. “The plant’s safety systems functioned as planned, and the disturbance did not pose a danger to people or the environment,” TVO said in a statement at the time.
TVO did have plans to build a fourth unit at the Olkiluoto facility, and in 2008 submitted an environmental impact assessment in preparation of applying for a construction license. However delays to OL3 has led the company to put its plans on hold. https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/cracks-found-in-feedwater-pumps-at-finland-s-ol3-nuclear-plant/
France electricity prices surge past €1,000/MWh as more nuclear reactors close for winter
Wholesale electricity prices in France for the middle of winter surged
above €1,000/MWh ($A1,540/MWh) after the operator of the world’s biggest
nuclear fleet revealed more problems, and more outages at its reactors.
The surge in prices for January delivery came after the utility EdF reduced its
forecast output for the fourth time this year, on this occasion due to
extended outages at four reactors and maintenance delays at others caused
by the waves of strikes that have affected the nation this autumn. It also
dramatically reversed weeks of falling spot and futures prices as gas
stocks improved and the weather remained wild.
But as analysts noted in the height of summer, nuclear problems pose just as big a threat to the EU grid
as the gas problems.
Renew Economy 8th Nov 2022
Incident at France’s Civaux nuclear reactor adds to EDFs problems of stress corrosion crackingin nuclear plants
Stress corrosion cracking: Assessing and remedying cracking problem in
nuclear plants. The full extent of stress corrosion cracking at EDF’s
reactors in France has still to be determined. Nonetheless, lower
production as plants are re-examined has come at the worst possible time
for the company.
Electricite de France SA is investigating an incident
during a test at a halted nuclear reactor last week, just as a series of
repairs jeopardize the country’s power-supply security for the coming
winter. The utility had to stop a high-pressure hydraulic test of the
primary circuit of its Civaux 1 reactor on Nov. 2 when steam was released
in a room of the reactor building. The reactor wasn’t loaded with nuclear
fuel, no one was hurt nor contaminated, and no radioactivity has been
detected outside the building, according to EDF.
The impact of the incident, which is unrelated to so-called stress-corrosion cracks that have
undermined the French nuclear giant’s reactor availability, still needs to
be assessed, Regis Clement, EDF’s deputy-head for nuclear production, said
at a news conference in Paris Tuesday.
The corrosion cracks hobbling EDF
reactors this year have put a hole in its finances and made France —
typically an exporter of power to its neighbors — a net importer. That,
combined with Russia’s dwindling gas deliveries, has contributed to a spike
in energy prices across Europe and stoked concerns of shortages in case of
a windless cold snap this winter.
Bloomberg 8th Nov 2022
EDF nuclear problems increase risk of winter energy shortages
EDF nuclear problems increase risk of winter energy shortages. French
energy prices surge as EDF scales back electricity output predictions
again. The risk of energy shortages in Britain and across the Channel this
winter is growing as French state energy giant EDF faces fresh problems
with its nuclear power stations.
French power prices for January have
surged above €1,000 (£870) per megawatt hour after EDF scaled back
predictions for its nuclear electricity output for the fourth time this
year. Markets were also rattled further on Tuesday as the company warned it
was “too early to say” whether the Civaux 1 reactor would return to
service on schedule following a radiation leak.
Experts said the
developments risked further squeezing the amount of power available in
January and February, the coldest months of the year when demand is usually
highest. That could spell trouble for France and Britain, which hope to
rely on each other for electricity supplies this winter.
Telegraph 8th Nov 2022
EDF Nuclear Reactor Has Test Incident, Deepening Supply Concerns
EDF Nuclear Reactor Has Test Incident, Deepening Supply Concerns, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-08/edf-nuclear-reactor-has-test-incident-deepening-supply-concerns#xj4y7vzkg By Francois De Beaupuy, November 9, 2022,
Electricite de France SA is investigating an incident during a test at a halted nuclear reactor last week, just as a series of repairs jeopardize the country’s power-supply security for the coming winter.
The utility had to stop a high-pressure hydraulic test of the primary circuit of its Civaux 1 reactor on Nov. 2 when steam was released in a room of the reactor building. The reactor wasn’t loaded with nuclear fuel, no one was hurt nor contaminated, and no radioactivity has been detected outside the building, according to EDF.
The impact of the incident, which is unrelated to so-called stress-corrosion cracks that have undermined the French nuclear giant’s reactor availability, still needs to be assessed, Regis Clement, EDF’s deputy-head for nuclear production, said at a news conference in Paris Tuesday.
The corrosion cracks hobbling EDF reactors this year have put a hole in its finances and made France — typically an exporter of power to its neighbors — a net importer. That, combined with Russia’s dwindling gas deliveries, has contributed to a spike in energy prices across Europe and stoked concerns of shortages in case of a windless cold snap this winter.
The French nuclear giant so far is keeping the Jan. 8 restart date for Civaux 1 unchanged. It aims to have about 42 of its 56 reactors online in December as repairs at a dozen sites affected by cracks progress, up from 30 on Tuesday morning, Clement said. That number is due to rise to 46 in January.
At Civaux, where heavy repairs of corrosion cracks have been completed, an inner insulation tube of a pipe used to introduce sensors in the reactor vessel was ejected in a room beneath the reactor during the pressure test, Clement said. That’s because equipment installed specifically for the test phase broke, he said.
EDF will send a robot in coming days to put the long radioactive tube in a container, he said. Employees will then be able to access the room, close a valve, and assess damage caused by water that’s still flowing into the room and into a special drain, Clement added.
“It’s way too early to say” how that will affect the restart of the reactor, he said.
1 This Month
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