Water shortage, drought, necessitate shutdown of France’s Chooz Nuclear Plant
Nuclear reactor in France shut down over drought, Chooz Nuclear Plant on Belgian border turned off after dry summer evaporates water needed to cool reactors, AA, Cindi Cook |25.08.2020 A nuclear power plant in northern France has been temporarily shuttered due to a drought in the area, said the company that runs the plant Tuesday.
The second reactor of the Chooz Nuclear Power Plant, in Ardennes, on the Belgian border, was shut down late Monday night, after the first reactor ceased operations Friday evening.
The actions were taken due to low water levels in the Meuse River, the main artery that runs through the area used to cool the two reactors.
The plant is named after Chooz, the commune where it is located in the Ardennes. The region is on level three of four drought alert levels…….
Water is a crucial ingredient for nuclear plant safety to cool the reactor core. ……
Water restrictions have been imposed this summer in 79 out of the 96 mainland departments in France due to drought conditions. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/nuclear-reactor-in-france-shut-down-over-drought/1952943
France’s nuclear energy continues to be hit by global heating, drought, water shortage
Low flow rate may halve output at France’s Saint-Alban nuclear plant, https://in.reuters.com/article/france-nuclear/low-flow-rate-may-halve-output-at-frances-saint-alban-nuclear-plant-idINL8N2FM54B PARIS, Aug 20 (Reuters) – A low flow rate on the Rhone River will likely restrict output on Saturday and Sunday at EDF’s Saint-Alban nuclear plant in southeastern France, French grid operator RTE said on Thursday.The two Saint-Alban reactors produce 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of power each, and the output reduction could be equivalent to the production of one unit, RTE said.
EDF’s use of water is regulated by law to protect plant and animal life. It is obliged to reduce output during hot weather when water temperatures rise, or when river levels and the flow rate are low.
Last month was the driest July in at least 60 years and the first half of August was the second hottest on record, making it the fifteenth consecutive month with higher than average temperatures, Meteo France data showed.
RTE published a similar warning for the Chooz reactors in northern France on Tuesday, as low water levels on the Meuse river risk extending current maintenance periods.
French nuclear availability is currently at 63.6% of total capacity, with 22.7 GW offline. (Reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Climate change bad for nuclear: Hot weather, water shortage, likely to curb output at France’s Chooz nuclear reactors
Low water levels may curb output at France’s Chooz nuclear reactors -RTE,  https://in.reuters.com/article/france-nuclear/low-water-levels-may-curb-output-at-frances-chooz-nuclear-reactors-rte-idINL8N2FC5XG PARIS, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Production may be reduced at EDF’s Chooz nuclear reactors in northern France on Saturday due to high temperatures lowering the water level on the Meuse River, French grid operator RTE said on Monday.The two reactors produce 1.45 gigawatts (GW) of power each. The shortfall could be equal to the production of one unit, RTE said.
The heat wave is forecast to peak at 37 degrees Celsius in the region on Wednesday, with temperatures falling as the week progresses, according to Meteo France’s weather forecast. Consumption in France is projected to reach 44.7 GW on Saturday, RTE data showed. French nuclear availability is currently at 60.6% of total capacity, with 24.6 GW offline. (Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Bate Felix; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) |
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Flamanville -the costly bloated shoddy leaky white elephant in France’s nuclear room
France’s Revolutionary Nuclear Reactor Is a Leaky, Expensive Mess
With a bloated budget, endless delays, and shoddy construction, EPR looks like a big mistake. BY CAROLINE DELBERT, AUG 3, 2020
- A revolutionary French reactor design is 10 years overdue and nearly four times over budget.
- Taking big technology swings requires risk, but this huge miscalculation looks bad.
- The reactor uses less uranium and aims to replace a decommissioned reactor at an existing plant.
France’s new energy minister has called a major French nuclear project “a mess” in public interviews. The European pressurized reactor (EPR) that was commissioned for the Flamanville nuclear power plant, where it joins two existing pressurized water reactors, has been delayed and plagued by problems. The latest extension takes the project timeline from 13 years to 17 at least.
The goal with the EPR design was to continue to kit out the world’s highest-output nuclear plants, with individual reactors that were more powerful and safer. The EPR uses less uranium because its chemical design is more efficient. And it’s not any kind of major technological leap; instead, it’s an iteration on a previous design that’s just a little bit better.
The engineers are so eager to keep iterating that they already have an EPR 2 design in the works. This sounds pretty straightforward … right?
That puts Flamanville 10 years past its original due date. One of the more alarming causes for delay is a break in the “main secondary system penetration welds,” which has contributed to a budget that’s bloated from a planned $3.9 billion to $14.6 billion.
Barbara Pompili was just appointed France’s minister of ecological transition, which is the department that includes energy as well as environmental issues like biodiversity. Pompili is publicly and avowedly anti-nuclear, even for civilian energy. With a new spotlight on her office, she told a French radio station, “We have made a commitment to reduce the share of nuclear power to 50 [percent] by 2035.”
Pompili said the critiques of Flamanville’s overdue EPR reflect broad industry consensus from different reports, not her own anti-nuclear views.
Fire at the Belleville nuclear power plant reveals the disorganization of EDF
  Le Journal de l’Energie 30th July 2020 A fire at the Belleville nuclear power plant reveals the disorganization ofEDF. A fire broke out at the Belleville-sur-Loire (Cher) nuclear power plant in April 2020 during a routine maintenance operation carried out by subcontractors, which should not have been left unattended. An incident that was largely avoidable if EDF had followed basic safety rules. An
inspection by the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), after the incident, identified “many deviations”. Although the incident did not have an impact on the operation of the plant, it calls into question the safety culture of EDF, the world’s leading nuclear operator. https://journaldelenergie.com/nucleaire/incendie-centrale-nucleaire-belleville-desorganisation-edf/ |
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Global heating now causing nuclear reactor shutdowns in France
EDF warns heatwave may force brief outage for 2.6 GW Golfech reactors, S and P Global, London — Rising temperatures may lead to output restrictions at France’s 2.6 GW Golfech nuclear power plant from July 31, operator EDF warned. “Due to the temperature forecasts on the Garonne, production restrictions are likely to affect EDF’s nuclear power plant at Golfech,” it said July 27. 28 Jul 2020 Author Andreas Franke , Editor Felix Fernandez
HIGHLIGHTS
Restrictions focus on July 31 to August 3 period.
Mini-heatwave only forecast to last until weekend
July’s nuclear average above expectations at 30 GW
London — Rising temperatures may lead to output restrictions at France’s 2.6 GW Golfech nuclear power plant from July 31, operator EDF warned.
“Due to the temperature forecasts on the Garonne, production restrictions are likely to affect EDF’s nuclear power plant at Golfech,” it said July 27.
This could lead to “unavailability of both units” until August 2.
France’s most southerly reactors, located between Toulouse and Bordeaux on the Garonne river, were some of the most impacted units during an extended heatwave last summer when air temperatures rose above 40 C in late June.
The current spell of hot weather is not forecast to stretch beyond the weekend with Meteo France not yet characterizing it as heatwave despite measuring the highest temperature so far this year at nearby Albi at 39.9 C on July 27.
In 2019, temperatures briefly peaked in late June above 40 C amid extended spells of extreme hot weather, increasing river temperatures above critical levels.
Grid operator RTE forecasts power demand to peak above 55 GW on July 31 with average weighted temperatures 7 C above norms.
In June 2019, French demand spiked close to record summer highs of 59.5 GW as temperatures reached 45 C in some regions of southern France.
Around two-thirds of France’s 56 reactor units are river-cooled, with some restrictions due to high temperatures stretching into autumn during past summers…. https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/072820-edf-warns-heatwave-may-force-brief-outage-for-26-gw-golfech-reactors.
Electricite de France fined for lying about Hinkley nuclear project, faces costs and delays due to pandemic
France’s markets regulator for providing false information on the HinkleyPoint C nuclear project. EDF and former Chief Executive Officer Henri
Proglio, who was fined 50,000 euros, failed to properly disclose new
circumstances concerning the U.K. project’s financing, the Autorité des
Marchés Financiers said in a statement on Thursday.
announced it would build the U.K.’s first nuclear reactors since 1995
after reaching a deal with the government on guaranteed prices for the
power they’d generate. The energy firm also said the project would
benefit from a British credit guarantee on conditions that were yet-to-be
agreed. EDF and Proglio should have specified in a statement a year later
that there had been significant changes on the guarantees, the AMF said.
accusation brought forward by AMF investigators. The AMF’s enforcement
committee assesses civil market-abuse cases ranging from insider trading to
publishing misleading information.
facing delays at the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant as the coronavirus
pandemic hampered work on-site and hit supply chains. The largest and most
advanced infrastructure project in the U.K. will miss three key milestones
this year, one of them critical — risking the 2025 completion deadline.
wave of coronavirus and lockdowns could cause more long-term set-backs.
“We’ve absorbed a lot of factory delays but we had some margin in our
program to do so,” Hinkley Point C’s managing director Stuart Crooks
said in an interview on-site in the southwest of England. EDF still expects
Hinkley to be finished on time.
assumption that the virus peters out by the end of the year so supply
chains and work at Hinkley can return to normal. There are about 4,500
staff currently on the site that covers an area equal to 245 soccer fields.
Initial plans were to ramp-up the number of workers to around 6,000 but
that depends how long social distancing rules stay in place.
Huge, costly, enormous effort, ITER nuclear fusion far from ready
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France’s global nuclear fusion device a puzzle of huge parts, AP, By ELAINE GANLEY. 29 Jul 20,
“…….. Billed as the world’s largest science project, ITER is gigantic. The circular device, called a tokamak, has a 30-meter circumference, stands 30 meters (100 feet) high, and is made up of more than a million parts constructed in numerous countries. ………Some pieces transported to France weigh several hundred tons. Tools to put the reactor together match that size, with giant lifts that must transfer components over the walls and down into “the pit.” A key component being built by the U.S., the Central Solenoid, is the most powerful of ITER’s numerous magnets. Together, they will be strong enough to lift an aircraft carrier. The project begun in 2006 is far from over. The experimental reactor is to head for another landmark moment in five years, described as a “trial run” when scientists launch what is called “First Plasma” showing that the machine functions, including magnetic fields and other operations……
The project’s estimated cost just for the EU was about 20 billion euros ($23.5 billion), Bigot told reporters. He said a full price tag was difficult to estimate because participating countries make their own contributions. https://apnews.com/c9e1780864431c3edcd1cc2c17568c54
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Takeover of UraMin – a scam linked to incompetence of leaders in the nuclear industry
Le Media 25th July 2020, Son of resistance fighters, Marc Eichinger was a trader for several banks before leading his investigation and security company, APIC, which protects companies in hostile terrain. With the Areva affair he becomes a spy, specializing in financial crime.
Since I opened the Areva file in February 2010, at the request of Admiral d’Arbonneau, I have the feeling that the
takeover of UraMin is not only a scam linked to incompetence or lightness of the leaders of the nuclear group in the treatment of this acquisition. A certain number of clues suggest that it goes beyond …I tend to think that the UraMin file will eventually come to light and become a historical benchmark in the area of international corruption. Yet at no time did we receive the slightest support from an elected politician. In this area, it is obvious that everyone sticks together. There is nothing to expect from politicians: the soup is too good, as they say.
EDF denies that China has increasingly big role in UK’s Hinkley Point nuclear project
EDF Denies Rising Chinese Influence at U.K. Nuclear Site, Bloomberg, By Corinne Gretler, July 26, 2020,
- Chinese partner’s role bigger than disclosed, Telegraph said
- EDF said allegations are ‘untrue,’ CGN’s role not increasing
Electricite de France SA denied a media report that China General Nuclear Power Corp.’s role at a U.K. nuclear site is increasing, underlining the growing tensions about China’s involvement in critical infrastructure.
The company understated the number of Chinese personnel on site and leaned heavily on CGN’s expertise in planning and construction, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing company documents and unidentified sources. The newspaper also said Chinese engineers proposed a way to lift a concrete dome onto the reactor at Hinkley Point C that would’ve involved dangling the heavy structure above workers, before it was deemed too dangerous…………
EDF owns about two-thirds of the Hinkley Point program while CGN holds the rest. The project was approved in 2016. The Tories have demanded a review of the plant, the Telegraph said, citing former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying ministers were misled when they approved China’s role as just a financial partner in the project. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-26/dalio-warns-of-u-s-china-capital-war-that-would-hit-dollar
France’s Flamanville new generation nuclear reactor “is a mess” – Energy Minister Barbara Pompili
Montel News 23rd July 2020, The new generation EPR reactor EDF is building at Flamanville in France
“is a mess,” France’s new energy minister Barbara Pompili said on Thursday. “I think it’s clear. The Flamanville EPR is a mess. This has been said in a number of reports which cannot be suspected of being anti-nuclear, notably the Court of Auditors report,” she told France Inter radio. “The initial costs (of the EPR) have multiplied by four,” she said, pointing to “problems of competence” that “had to be resolved.”
https://www.montelnews.com/en/story/french-epr-is-a-mess–energy-minister/1133707?s=09
Electricite de France (EDF) ‘s new nuclear reactors not financially viable
French auditor calls for financing guarantee for future EPR projects, WNN, 15 July 2020, EDF must ensure the financing and profitability of its proposed EPR2 reactor before starting construction of any plants based on the design in France, the country’s state audit office has said. The EPR2 is a simplified version of the EPR design, construction of which has been hit by delays and cost increases in France and Finland……..
Construction of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR began in 2005, with completion of the reactor originally scheduled for 2009. However, with various delays and setbacks, fuel loading is now planned for later this year. The loading of fuel into the Flamanville EPR in France, construction of which began in December 2007, is now scheduled for the end of 2022. Two EPR units are also under construction at the Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, UK.launch of the construction sites of the first two EPRs, in Finland and in Flamanville. This insufficient preparation led to underestimating the difficulties and the construction costs, and to overestimating the capacity of the French nuclear sector to face it, at the cost of financial risks for the companies of the sector.”The audit office added, “The construction of new EPRs in France cannot in any event be envisaged without clear prior answers on the methods of financing and the role of nuclear power production in the electricity mix of tomorrow.”
The report says EDF is no longer in a position to finance the construction of new reactors on its own. The utility, it says, is studying means of financing that either makes the consumer – as in the case of the UK’s contract-for-difference for construction of Hinkley Point C – or the taxpayer bear the costs of construction.
“The financial challenges are major, with the cost of construction of three pairs of EPR2 reactors being estimated at EUR46 billion (2018 value),” the Cour des Comptes notes. “Taking into account their duration of construction, production and dismantling, the decision to build or not to build future EPRs will have consequences until the 22nd Century. …. https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/French-auditor-calls-for-financing-guarantee-for-f
France’s state auditor questions the wisdom of EDF’s Hinkley Point nuclear project in UK
Telegraph 11th July 2020, Doubts cast on EDF’s ability to build power stations on time and budget.
French auditor questions wisdom of state-owned utility’s involvement in building the new Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset.
France’s state auditor has questioned the ability of the company building Britain’s next nuclear power plant to construct new reactors within “acceptable” costs and timeframes. State-owned EDF has already said that its Flamanville nuclear plant in Normandy will now cost €12.4bn due to the expense of fixing 66 faulty welds. On top of that, the project will cost another €6.7bn, according to France’s Court of Accounts in a new report.
EDF has also said the plant’s start date will be delayed until the end of 2022. Flamanville was originally due to cost €3.3bn and start operations in 2012.
Presenting the damning 148-page report this week, Court of Accounts chief Pierre Moscovici said: “There is still uncertainty on the ability of the French nuclear industry, despite its current strong efforts, to build new nuclear reactors within a time frame and costs that remain acceptable.”
The criticism follows a £3bn surge in costs at the Hinkley Point C reactor EDF is building in Somerset. The bill for the project will now be £22.5bn – £2.9bn more than previously forecast – with overruns paid for by EDF. The energy giant has faced lags at its other projects, including Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, which is running more than
a decade behind schedule.
In its report, the state auditor questioned the wisdom of involvement in Hinkley Point C, saying its construction was
“weighing heavily” on the financial situation of EDF, whose net debt hit €41bn at the end of last year.
Court reveals that EDF deceived UK about the true financial risks of Hinkley Point nuclear project
EDF boss suppressed report calling Hinkley Point ‘risky’Adam Sage, The Times, 10 July 20, thetimes.co.uk/article/edf-boss-suppressed-report-calling-hinkley-point-risky-gd5vcdhrx
The Times reports that the chief executive of the French company building the UK’s new nuclear reactors won boardroom approval for the project after suppressing an internal review labelling it as risk-laden. In a “highly critical report on the European Pressurised Reactors”, France’s Court of Audit said that the Hinkley Point project in Somerset, led by EDF, represented a “high financial risk” for the French state electricity group, the Times adds.
The court uncovered that the risks had been pointed out in a 2015 review that warned there “were not efficient enough to guarantee that risks would be controlled”. The Times continues: “The court said that Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF’s executive chairman, had ‘refused to transmit the full report’ to directors or the government, even though the state has an 83.7% stake. They received only a synopsis.” The project received approval from the EDF board in 2016. The court also said that EDF must establish the financing and profitability of nuclear reactors before launching projects, reports Reuters, “dealing a blow to the state-owned utility’s ambitions to build new units”. And Reuters also reports that nuclear power generation at its reactors in France plunged 25.1% in June (compared to 2019) due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, writing in the Daily Telegraph, Sir Iain Duncan-Smith – MP and former leader of the Conservative Party – argues that the UK should “unwind its dependence on China” for “cheap goods and nuclear power”. He says: “The UK has enormous home grown tidal power potential, yet both tidal and hydrogen seem to have been brushed aside in favour of our growing dependence on large Chinese-run nuclear projects.” He concludes: “From Huawei to hydrogen and Hong Kong, we need to recognise the strategic threat China poses and, together with our allies, decide what we will do to reduce it, otherwise we risk repeating the failed lessons of the past.” And also in the Daily Telegraph, chief city commentator Ben Marlow says that the government should be stimulating manufacturing demand to contain the damage caused by Covid-19 to Rolls Royce – “Britain’s most illustrious engineering company”. He says: “It should start with nuclear where enlisting the expertise of Rolls-Royce in building so-called mini-nukes would help to solve its current geo-political nightmare with China. It would make it easier to ditch China General Nuclear Power Group from the plans to build giant new plants at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast and Bradwell in Essex, or scrap the proposals altogether.” These decisions would “also offer a greener and cheaper alternative to a technology that looks decidedly out of date already, and it would create jobs at a company in desperate need of a leg up – three birds with one stone”.
France’s oldest nuclear power plant at Fessenheim finally shut down
The two reactors at Fessenheim began operation in 1977 and 1978 and were already three years beyond their projected 40-year life span.
Although there is no legal limit on the operating life of French nuclear power plants, EDF had envisaged a 40-year lifetime for all second-generation PWRs.
Fessenheim had become a focus for anti-nuclear campaigners after the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan, prompting then President Francois Hollande to promise its closure. However, it was not until 2018 that his successor Emmanuel Macron finalised the decision.,,,….. https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsfessenheim-closes-down-8004216
1 This Month
26 September – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
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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