France still has huge nuclear power problems - Germany suffers from them too

Created: 10/24/2022 11:39 am

By: Markus Hofstetter

France relies on nuclear energy like no other country in the world.

This is now falling on the country's feet.

Germany also suffers from this.

Paris – France relies on nuclear power for its electricity supply.

The country has 56 reactors in which, according to the Society for Plant and Reactor Safety (GRS), 67 percent of the total electricity was produced in 2020 - this is a world record.

French President Emmanuel Macron is even planning a further expansion of nuclear energy, the lifetimes of the power plants should be extended and six new reactors should be built.

But the one-sided trust in nuclear energy has recently fallen on France's toes.

According to GRS, as of mid-August 2022, 27 reactors were online in France.

That's more than half standing still.

This situation has since improved somewhat.

Macron announced in mid-October that 30 of the 56 reactors were connected to the grid.

The operator EDF has also committed to running 45 reactors again by January.

Nuclear power misery in France: damage and maintenance shut down many reactors

The disaster began with corrosion damage to the pipes of an emergency cooling system, which was discovered in Unit 1 of the Civaux nuclear power plant in late 2021.

EDF then also took block 2 off the grid for investigations.

Two identical nuclear reactors, all of the N4 type, then had to be tested and shut down.

The four most powerful reactors in the country, each with 1560 megawatts, are therefore no longer supplying electricity.

Corrosion damage was first noticed in the French nuclear power plant Civaux.

(Archive photo) © imagebroker/imago

But that's not all.

The twelve 1300-megawatt blocks of the P4 reactors have also proven to be susceptible to this corrosion phenomenon.

These were also switched off and are now being checked.

There are also scheduled shutdowns at other reactors for fuel replacement and routine inspection and maintenance.

In addition to annual maintenance, which according to GRS lasts one to two months, older reactors also need ten-year inspections, which can take up to five months.

Nuclear power in France: Germany exports significantly more electricity to France

To make matters worse, the supply of cooling water to the reactors could not be fully guaranteed in the summer due to the persistent drought.

Therefore they were only driven with a reduced power.

In order to guarantee the energy supply, France has to import more electricity from abroad than it has in a long time.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, in the first half of 2022 Germany exported more electricity to France than it imported from France for the first time since statistics began in 1990.

The overall increase in electricity exports from Germany meant, among other things, that more electricity was generated in the expensive gas-fired power plants in 2022 than in the previous year, despite the shortage.

Power generation in France: Strike at EDF endangers power supply in winter

The French electricity producer EDF is also being hit by a wave of strikes, which could also endanger the power supply in winter.

The protests by workers at nuclear power plants meant that the start-up of several reactors was delayed by two to three weeks, network operator RTE warned on Tuesday (October 18) in Paris.

At the beginning of November, production is expected to be lower than previously assumed.

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Macron doesn't seem to want to rely entirely on nuclear energy after all.

In addition to new nuclear reactors, the French President also wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies.

According to this, France wants to create around 50 offshore wind farms at sea with an output of 40 gigawatts by 2050.

But there is likely to be a sharp headwind from the opposition.

During the last election campaign, Macron accused the right-wing populist Marine Le Pen of wanting to dismantle the existing plants.

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