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| Fig. 1: Construction of French reactor Flamanville 3 (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
France is one of the worlds largest nuclear powers. Since the 1950s the country has invested in its nuclear infrastructure: the 1974 Messemer plan resulted in massive investment in nuclear energy in order to reduce its reliance on imported oil as a result of the previous years OPEC embargo. As a result, nuclear energy powers 70.6% of France's total energy generation, which is the greatest percentage in the world (the second highest is Slovakia with 53%). [1] Today, as France and other EU countries state their goals for a transition to green-energy, the role of nuclear power has been questioned. Public opinion of Nuclear Energy complicates its future development after numerous nuclear meltdowns, such as the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in 2011, and countries such as Germany have already begun to decrease their generation of nuclear energy. However, France's large but aging infrastructure and historical reliance on nuclear energy raises several questions about its future energy production.
France currently has 56 operating nuclear reactors, with a net capacity of 61370 MW(e) (megawatt electrical, a unit of electric power generated). All reactors are pressurized water reactors (PWR), which represent 68% of the reactors by number worldwide. [1] 14 reactors are in the process of shutting down, which is a reflection of France's aging infrastructure. 2 reactors are currently in construction, most notably the Flamanville 3 reactor (see Fig. 1), which has seen multiple delays in pushing its energy production, most recently by another 6 months, after almost a decade of delays. [2] However, the reactor is set to add another 1600 MWe of capacity. [2] EDF (Électricité de France), France's national energy utility company has also estimated that the total cost of the project will amount to 12.7 billion Euros, which is quadruple the estimate first laid out in 2004. [2]
Though Nuclear Energy accounts for the largest portion of France's power generation, there is uncertainty regarding its role in the future of France's energy policy. In 2015 the government passed the Green Growth Energy Bill, which set a goal to decrease the share of nuclear energy to 50% of power generated by 2025 as part of its transition to cleaner energy. [3] The share of power generated by Nuclear Energy in France has subsequently decreased from 76.3% in 2019 to 70.6% at the end of 2020. [1] 17 reactors were shut down either permanently or temporarily towards the end of 2021, and EDF revised its 2022 nuclear output estimate down to 295-315 TWh to 295-315 TWh as a result of an extended outage of 5 reactors. [4] As other key transition fuels such as natural gas have seen rising costs, France has planned to focus more on rebuilding its nuclear energy infrastructure since its existing infrastructure is aging quickly. Emmanuel Macron, France's president, is set to announce the number of new reactors France will build in coming years and how the government will finance them in order to shield France from unstable imported energy prices. This is a decision that was made several months before the presidential election in order to protect France from rising energy costs afflicting Europe. [2] Macron announced a plan to announce 6 new reactors, including EDFs purchase of GEs nuclear turbine business in France. [5] All of the new reactors that Macron has announced are small modular reactors (SMR), which are new and have yet to be deployed. [6] Macron's opponents have criticized him for his inconsistent remarks on nuclear energy, as his new plan contradicts his mandate on reducing reliance on nuclear energy. [2]
An important consideration in France's ability to sustain nuclear energy development is the future of the supply of uranium, a key source to fuel the nuclear fission that powers reactors. A report by the NEA (Nuclear Energy Agency) at the end of 2020 showed that capacity requirements were in the low case 354 GWe and 626 GWe in the high case by 2030. [7] The NEA suggests that Uranium resources are more than adequate to meet either end of these projections, which may inform the decision to temporarily expand France's nuclear infrastructure.
A continued investment in France's nuclear energy may be necessary as prices for other transition fuels such as natural gas are reaching all-time highs. Though public opinion has shifted, it seems as if France will continue to develop its nuclear infrastructure until it develops a more sustainable reliance on renewables.
© Alexander Lerner. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "Nuclear Power Reactors in the World," International Atomic Energy Agency, 2021.
[2] A. Nussbaum and F. De Beaupy, "Macron Pledges New Nuclear Reactors - If He's Re-Elected," Bloomberg, 10 Feb 22.
[3] J. Fidawi, "The Future of Nuclear Energy in France," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2021.
[4] "Après 2022, EDF Abaisse sa Prévision de Production Nucléaire 2023," Le Figaro, 11 Feb 22.
[5] M. Dalton, "France's Macron Bets on Nuclear Power to Fight Climate Change," Wall Street Journal, 10 Feb 22.
[6] A. Pecout, "Nucléaire: Les Mini-Centrales SMR, un Projet d'Exportation pour la France," Le Monde, 11 Oct 21.
[7] "Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand," Nuclear Energy Agency, NEA No. 7551, 2020.
