On Tuesday, French nuclear regulator ASN warned Macron that some problems in the country’s nuclear reactors, such as corrosion problems, could take several years to fix. The regulator also warned that the repair of reactors operated by the French state-owned EDF would require a “large-scale” plan, as more reactors are at risk of being shut down.
During a hearing in the French parliament, Bernard Doroszchuk noted that while the French energy company is investigating 35 corrosion welds and will check another 105 by the end of June, EDF is still unsure of the cause of the problem.
Reactor corrosion problems are gaining momentum, but he believes that at this stage it is unlikely that the age of the reactors has caused this damage.
He added that the 32,900 MW EDF reactors, which make up the majority of France’s reactors, were largely unaffected by corrosion problems.
Authorities believe one possible reason for the problems could be the “design frenching” of 900 MW reactors, originally based on a Westinghouse project.
According to EDF’s schedule, welding repairs at the Flamanville EPR plant in France will continue until August 2022.
The energy company was affected by long delays and budget depletion for new nuclear power plants, both in France and abroad.
The company’s next-generation EPR reactors are mired in similar problems as Flamanville and Hinkley Point EPR projects in the UK run years behind schedule, costing billions of pounds over budget.
Meanwhile, EDF’s EPR reactors in China and Finland are also affected by technical problems.
READ MORE: Energy crisis deepens as EDF warns of UK-free nuclear collapse
This is a humiliating blow to Mr Macron, who sought to extend the life of France’s 32 oldest existing reactors by 10 years to half a century, thus avoiding the need to shut them down during the decade.
Most of the country’s nuclear power plants were built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, following the oil crisis of the 1970s.
EDF previously said that with 27 reactors currently in decommissioning, the company has been forced to buy electricity from the European grid to meet demand – which, thanks to the current gas crisis, comes first.
An EDF spokesman told Sky News that the corrosion identified in five of the offline reactors “does not call into question the high level of safety of our facilities.”
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