France buys massive amounts of electricity because nuclear reactors fail - with consequences for Bavaria

Created: 07/08/2022, 05:00

By: Patrick Freiwah

Nuclear power plant in Cattenom: A reactor in the French power plant near the German border is also not connected to the grid at the moment due to suspected corrosion.

© Karaba/epa/dpa

France is traditionally Europe's largest electricity exporter.

But because many nuclear power plants are not connected to the grid, the Grande Nation is suddenly dependent on electricity from abroad.

Munich/Paris – As recently as February, French President Emanuel Macron swore the French were committed to a “renaissance of nuclear energy”.

The country, which produces a good 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, has 56 reactors – more than any other EU country.

In order to become even more independent, Macron wants to extend the running times of the power plants and build six new reactors.

Nevertheless, there is little evidence of nuclear euphoria in France, on the contrary: the network operators are urging their customers to save electricity, France has to import electricity instead of selling it as usual.

Electricity: France has problems with nuclear power plants - climate change is also to blame

The reason: Of the 56 French nuclear power plants, 29 are idle.

First of all, this is due to the old age of the reactors, which, according to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, were built 37 years ago on average.

Many are due for maintenance, especially as these have been postponed during the lockdowns.

Secondly, many reactors of the state operator EDF were unexpectedly taken off the grid due to suspected corrosion and cracks in the cooling tubes.

Thirdly, some plants have already had to reduce their output because there is no longer enough cooling water due to the lower water levels in rivers and lakes.

A hot and dry summer threatens to exacerbate this problem.

This is one of the reasons why EDF expects, according to a report by the

with the fact that France could produce less nuclear power this year than it has in three decades.

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The consequences have long been felt.

Although the gas-fired power plants in France are running at full capacity, they cannot compensate for the outages.

What was once the largest electricity exporter in Europe bought electricity in the first half of the year – mainly from German wind power.

That brought the nuclear power nation a lot of malice.

"The hot months haven't even started and the nuclear power plants in France are already having massive problems maintaining their output," says Simone Peters, President of the German Renewable Energy Federation.

"Now renewable energies from Germany have to give the ailing nuclear power plants a boost," says Peters, who assumes that the cooling problems due to climate change will become permanent.

Lack of electricity in Bavaria?

Association chief sees “strong, reliable network”

Because Germany has also been producing more electricity than it consumes for a number of years - especially when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing - industry in this country has not had to fear a power shortage until now.

"The crisis situation relates to gas - and not to electricity," emphasizes Netzagentur boss Klaus Müller.

When asked, the Association of Bavarian Business (vbw) also assumes that the power supply in Bavaria will continue to be secured.

"Despite the bottlenecks in France, we have a strong and reliable power grid in Europe," assures vbw boss Bertram Brossardt.

Power supply in Germany: head of the association advocates extending the life of nuclear power

However, experts point out that the situation could change in winter, when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing, which means fewer renewable energies are available - especially if France is now also unable to supply electricity.

Brossardt also fears that electricity for industry will become significantly more expensive in the medium term.

"Although the price increases have not yet fully reached the companies because of the long-term contracts, the high electricity prices in Bavaria are already having a massive impact on companies," he warns.

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In addition to relief measures such as a reduction in electricity tax, he is therefore calling for the three remaining German nuclear power plants to be extended.

"At the same time, we must work with all our might to expand power grids and renewable energies," says Brossardt.

"This will dampen electricity prices in the long term and free us from one-sided dependencies in the energy sector."

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