EDF showed Monday its "
confidence
" in the schedule of the EPR of Flamanville (Manche), with a fuel loading planned in about a year, while acknowledging that it has low margins.
"
The schedule that brings us to a fuel load in about a year is not a schedule with a lot of margin, but in which we have confidence
", declared during a press conference Xavier Ursat, director in charge of the engineering and new nuclear projects.
It is "
a plant that is close to operating status
", he said.
"
The first part of the critical path to bring us roughly in a year to the loading of the fuel, it is obviously to finish the big welds of the main secondary circuit, which have progressed a lot
” and then to carry out “
finishing work
”.
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EDF will then have to conduct tests and obtain authorization from the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) before starting.
EDF announced in January further delays for Flamanville, whose nuclear fuel loading is now expected in the second quarter of 2023. The construction site has thus accumulated 11 years of delay and its estimated cost has risen to 12.7 billion against 3.3 billion expected. initially.
Read alsoEDF: new blow for the Flamanville EPR
After fuel loading, the reactor will be brought up to 100% power gradually over several months.
Production on the electricity grid is scheduled for the second half of 2023, said Xavier Ursat.
China has the first two EPRs to enter service in the world, but one had to be shut down last summer due to an incident.
As a result of this problem, “
we are going to change the (fuel) assemblies that will be installed on the periphery
” of the reactor core in Flamanville, explained Xavier Ursat.
But this change is "
compatible with the schedule
" and "
does not call into question the design of the EPR
“, he assured.
A third EPR has been completed in Finland, while two more are under construction in England.
