The Blayais nuclear power plant is still being talked about.
Located in Braud-et-Saint-Louis (Gironde), it could be one of the plants hosting new generation EPRs wanted by Emmanuel Macron, but an amendment adopted by the Senate on Tuesday makes this installation impossible for the moment "
in an area subject to flooding or having suffered flooding or submersion by the sea
”.
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“
It is quite simply a question of ensuring the safety of our nuclear fleet and the safety of our fellow citizens
”, affirms the environmentalist senator of the Gironde, Monique de Marco, at the origin of this amendment.
The elected official recalls that during the passage of the storm Martin in 1999, "
the Gironde came close to disaster
".
The Blayais power station was flooded by waves, "
which passed over the dyke of the power station, even if it was sized against a millennial surge and a tidal coefficient of 120
", forcing an emergency shutdown. of two of the four reactors.
The evacuation of the city of Bordeaux, located about sixty kilometers from the plant, had even been considered.
The RN, the CCI and Renaissance in tune
"
The Blayais disaster demonstrated our inability to anticipate the consequences of major meteorological events
", underlines the senator from Gironde, recalling that "
the
consequences of climate change
remain unpredictable
", and that during the century, "
the frequency and the intensity of climatic disasters will continue to increase
”.
The IPCC estimates in this respect that the municipality of Braud-et-Saint-Louis “
would be regularly submerged
”.
But several elected Girondins do not see things the same way.
Thomas Cazenave, Renaissance deputy and opposition municipal councilor in Bordeaux, is the author with nine other parliamentarians of an open letter to Élisabeth Borne last November, asking the Prime Minister to install new generation reactors on the site. du Blayais.
A position also supported by many local elected officials, including Lydia Héraud, the president of the community of communes of the Estuary.
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In Gironde, the National Rally is also favorable to the development of nuclear power in the department.
MPs Edwige Diaz and Grégoire de Fournas visited the site last November to reaffirm their support for the sector.
“
I hope that the Blayais nuclear power plant will welcome these new EPRs
”, hammered the deputy Edwige Diaz, asking the government “
to take into consideration the requests of local elected officials
”.
Towards a possible shutdown of current reactors
The Bordeaux Gironde Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) also supports the installation of these new reactors in Blayais.
"
The possible shutdown, in the coming years, of the four reactors of the Blayais power plant is of growing concern
", explains Patrick Seguin, president of the CCI Bordeaux Gironde, who wishes "
to bring the support of the economic world to the reception of next-generation reactors that will guarantee clean and carbon-free energy
”.
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The organization also considers that “
in the event of non-renewal of the nuclear fleet on the Blayais site, it will be impossible for the New Aquitaine region to achieve its energy transition objectives for 2025
”.
Currently, the Blayais nuclear power plant covers 65% of the region's electricity needs.
Between 2023 and 2025, three of the four reactors will undergo a ten-year inspection to determine whether they can continue to operate for another ten years.