Ho hum – Flamanville nuclear power project delayed again.
Electricite de France SA on Wednesday said that it has revised the
schedule for its Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor project in northern France,
citing the current stage of progress, and difficulties caused by the
coronavirus pandemic.
The French energy company said the fuel-loading date
has been rescheduled to the second trimester of 2023 from the end of 2022.
Costs are now estimated at 12.7 billion euros ($14.41 billion) compared
with an earlier estimate of EUR12.4 billion. Several operations still need
to be carried out before loading the fuel into the reactor vessel and
carrying out start-up tests, EDF said.
Market Watch 12th Jan 2022
Fault found in France’s Chooz 2 nuclear reactor – its outage shutdown now extended
Chooz 2 nuclear reactor outage extended after fault discovered
Reuters PARIS, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The outage of the 1.5 gigawatt (GW) No.2 reactor at the Chooz nuclear power plant in northern France has been extended after an inspection found the same fault as at the Civaux plant in the west of the country, operator EDF (EDF.PA) said on Thursday.
The two plants were shut down in December after discovery of corrosion in a safety system at the Civaux plant. read more
The reactor outage was extended to Apr. 20 from the previous expected return date of Jan. 23.
| The repair solution is being investigated with the French nuclear safety authority ASN, EDF said, adding that inspections on the Chooz 1 reactor are still in progress…………French power grid operator RTE said in December that French nuclear capacity in January was expected to be at its lowest level ever for this time of year. read more ….Nuclear power accounts for about 70% of France’s electricity mix and the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed maintenance work on some nuclear reactors. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chooz-2-nuclear-reactor-outage-extended-after-fault-discovered-2022-01-06/ |
France – a serious anomaly detected in several EDF nuclear reactors
Nuclear: a serious anomaly detected in several EDF reactors. While several
nuclear production units are not running due to ten-yearly inspection
visits, EDF announced on Thursday that it would extend the shutdown of a
reactor at Chooz by three months, after having detected a fault there
similar to that of another plant. stopped. While this has so far only been
identified in reactors of the same generation, it questions the safety of
the fleet, on which France depends to produce its electricity. In the
Tribune, Karine Herviou, Deputy Director General of the Institute for
Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) reports a serious anomaly.
La Tribune 6th Jan 2022
Les Echos 6th Jan 2022
Reuters 6th Jan 2022
France’s electricity consumers face curbs as EDF struggles with problems and shutdowns
French electricity consumers face curbs on their electricity supplies following shutdowns at four of EDF’s nuclear power plant. France is highly reliant on its nuclear power plants, obtaining around 70 per cent of its electricity from nuclear on an annual basis. This, along with other various examples of nuclear unreliability, must seriously question the British Government’s determination to plough on with its programme of new nuclear power plant. The four nuclear plants have been shut down ‘after the detection of anomalies in the emergency injection circuits‘. France’s Grid Operator, RTE, has warned consumers that limitations on supplies may be necessary soon. France has been struggling with its nuclear sector and EDF’s efforts to build another nuclear plant at Flamanville have been hobbled by very long construction delays and massive cost overruns. 100% Renewables 31st Dec 2021 https://100percentrenewableuk.org/french-electricity-consumers-face-brownouts-and-even-power-cuts-after-nuclear-power-plant-shutdowns |
Nuclear authorities dismiss a massive tritium leak from nuclear reactor as unimportant. But should they?
Nuclear: do our power plants release too much tritium? This fission residue is not very radiotoxic. But the discharge standards in waterways are more permissive in France than in Japan. With the holiday season and the covid epidemic, the event has gone almost unnoticed. But it is reported in detail on the site of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). Between November 25 and December 8, 2021, at the Tricastin site, around 900 liters of effluents containing tritium infiltrated the soil, causing “abnormal radiological activity”. More precisely, the measurements carried out on site made it possible to detect a peak in radioactivity of 28,900 Becquerels per liter on December 12. Taking up this information, the Mediapart site mentions a major radioactive leak. After ASN inspection, the event was nevertheless classified at level 0 on the international nuclear events scale. How to explain this difference in perception? L’Express 28th Dec 2021 https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/nucleaire-nos-centrales-rejettent-elles-trop-de-tritium_2165111.html |
Long and difficult dismantling of EDF’s graphite technology nuclear reactors to continue
The dismantling of EDF’s graphite technology nuclear reactors, which are
particularly long and difficult to deconstruct, can continue, the Nuclear
Safety Authority (ASN) said on Monday in a press release.
Le Figaro 27th dec 2021
With 15 nuclear reactors shut down, France faces risk of power cuts
With nuclear production at its lowest in January, RTE admits the risk of
voltage drops. French nuclear production will reach a historically low
level in January. RTE accepts the possibility of brownouts or calls to
reduce consumption. Even, as a last resort, power cuts. L’Usine Nouvelle 31st Dec 2021
Electricity: the availability of French nuclear power plants at its
lowest. Out of 56 reactors, 15 are shut down, which can pose a problem in
the event of extreme cold, underlines the manager RTE, who has raised his
level of vigilance.
Le Monde 30th Dec 2021
Massive leak of tritium at France’s Tricastin nuclear power plant.
A massive leak of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, occurred earlier this month at the Tricastin nuclear power plant, one of the oldest in France, when subsequent radiation levels recorded in groundwater below it reached 28,900 becquerels per litre.
Both the plant’s operator, EDF, and the French nuclear safety watchdog, the ASN, insist that the spill has
been contained. But, as Jade Lindgaard reports, despite that claim it appears inevitable that that the radioactive effluent will pollute the local environment.
Mediapart 28th Dec 2021
France’s oldest nuclear power plant, shut in 1985, still highly radioactive
“You can’t see radioactivity, you can’t feel it, so people don’t care”: in Brennilis, nuclear power is no longer operating. Shutdown in 1985, the monts d’Arrée power plant was the first in France to begin dismantling.
The reactor block of the Finistère nuclear power plant in Brennilis remains one of the last vestiges of the gigantic installation, in operation from 1967 to 1985. Despite the decades, its dismantling has not yet been completed. It is in this building, however, that the most radioactive elements of the infrastructure are stored, a prototype of a heavy water reactor cooled with carbon dioxide, never reproduced in France afterwards.
Le Monde 28th Dec 2021
France to lead the European Council – a worrying situation as Macron cosies up to polluting corporations, especially nuclear.
In January, France will take on the rotating Presidency of the Council of
the EU for six months. This Presidency will have a particular resonance
both in France itself, coinciding as it does with Emmanuel Macron’s
re-election campaign, and at the European level, with many critical pieces
of legislation and policy on the line.
It is therefore worrying that this
Presidency has been prepared in close collaboration with the French
corporate sector, and is setting a policy agenda that strongly reflects
business demands.
In the name of climate action, the French Government is
pushing for more public support and funding for controversial industries,
including a renewed push for the nuclear sector. For the sake of nuclear
energy, the French Government appears willing to undermine the integrity of
the European Green Deal and other EU policies on the climate crisis, for
instance with the demand that gas is seen as ‘green’ in the Green
Taxonomy which will direct financial flows accordingly, and generally
through the prioritisation of industry-pushed ‘techno-fixes’ instead of
structural changes to make our lives more sustainable.
Corporate Europe 20th Dec 2021
https://corporateeurope.org/en/under-influence-distorted-priorities
France’s Environmental Authority requires a list of all the problems encountered in building the Flamanville EPR nuclear reactor
An inventory of incidents on the EPR required according to the
Environmental Authority. In its latest opinion, the Environmental Authority
recommends a listing of all the problems encountered during the
construction of the EPR, as well as an update on the various solutions
provided.
France Bleu 23rd Dec 2021
Science & Avenir 23rd Dec 2021
https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/nature-environnement/nucleaire-l-autorite-environnementale-reclame-plus-d-informations-sur-flamanville_160059
Le Figaro 23rd Dec 2021
France short of electricity, as it shuts down 2 nuclear reactors due to safety concerns
In the face of a continent-wide energy
crisis, France has resorted to using fuel oil to meet its power needs in
order to avoid a blackout. Despite the fact that Paris is usually a major
power exporter, it has recently increased electricity imports and even
burned fuel oil to “keep the lights on” in the country.
This energy shortage has arisen as a result of EDF Energy’s decision to shut down two
nuclear power plants due to safety concerns. At its Civaux nuclear power
station, the state-owned energy company discovered flaws in a safety
system’s pipes. It also stated that another plant, which used the same
type of reactors, would be shut down. In the two reactors in Western
France, the problem was discovered near the welds on the pipes of the
safety injection-system circuit.
Brinkwire 22nd Dec 2021
Tricastin nuclear power station: a radioactive leak in groundwater
Tricastin nuclear power station: a radioactive leak in groundwater. EDF
revealed, this Tuesday, December 21, that a tritium leak had been detected
in the Tricastin nuclear power plant.
Le Dauphine 21st Dec 2021
EDF HAS DECIDED TO CLOSE TWO NUCLEAR PLANTS AFTER FINDING CRACKS
EDF HAS DECIDED TO CLOSE TWO NUCLEAR PLANTS AFTER FINDING CRACKS
https://democratic-europe.eu/2021/12/20/edf-has-decided-to-close-two-nuclear-plants-after-finding-cracks/?fbclid=IwAR0PQ0CpQFhNptc25vic5vGb1Mo4apstAvB8erHrKAWA56AB8bcGOIV58Mg 20 Dec 21, Électricité de France S.A., comm owned by the state, shuttered two nuclear power plants after routine safety inspections found cracks at one power plant.
EDF wrote in a press release, “preventive maintenance checks on the primary circuit of reactor number 1 of the Civaux Nuclear Power Plant” found cracks due to corrosion on the pipes.
“Checks initiated on the same equipment of reactor number 2 of the Civaux Nuclear Power Plant revealed similar defects,” the French power giant said.
France’s Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) was informed about cracks detected close to the welds on the reactor’s pipes.
EDF temporarily closed Civaux to “replace the affected parts on the two Civaux reactors, the work being governed by a technical instruction prepared in cooperation with the ASN, which leads to extend the shutdown of the two reactors,” it said.
EDF has also chosen to close two reactors at another nuclear plant at Chooz in the northeastern Ardennes department for inspections. Both power plants use the same reactor technology.
The temporarily closing of Civaux’s reactors and Chooz’s reactors will reduce one terawatt-hour of output and couldn’t come at the worst time as cooler weather sent French power contracts to a record high earlier this week.
A power reduction could suggest strain on the power grid amid cooler weather and higher power prices.
The French government asked EDF for earlier restart of nuclear reactors (now on maintenance)
The French government asked Electricite de France SA to restart some
nuclear reactors earlier than planned in order to help with a winter energy
crunch across Europe. Ecology Minister Barbara Pompili said on France Info
radio that she had asked EDF Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy in a
meeting on Friday to restart more quickly than planned some reactors that
were halted for maintenance and scheduled to restart in mid-January.
Bloomberg 19th Dec 2021
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To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com/
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