France covers 70 percent of its energy needs with nuclear power. But not even half of the almost 60 reactors supply electricity. It is now certain that four reactors will not produce energy again until the end of this year at the earliest.
Four French nuclear reactors are said to remain shut down due to corrosion. The French energy company EDF announced that the reactors should only go back on line between November 1st and January 23rd next year. The reactors Cattenom 1, 3 and 4 as well as Penly 1 are affected. According to EDF, stress corrosion was found in four places near welds on pipes of cooling circuits, which produces tiny cracks. However, the cooling systems are of crucial importance in the event of an accident.
Only 24 of 56 reactors are currently in operation. 32 are shut down – either for routine maintenance or to assess corrosion risks. EDF now rates the total electricity production for 2022 “at the lower end of the forecast of 280 to 300 terawatt hours (TWh)”, as the group announced. Since the nuclear power plants cool with river water, numerous nuclear reactors in France have recently had to be shut down or taken off the grid due to the persistent heat and drought.
If its own production is not sufficient to meet France’s needs, EDF imports electricity from other European countries. There, however, energy prices are skyrocketing because Russia has curbed exports of natural gas, an important source of electricity generation, due to the Ukraine war.
Emergency work at the nuclear power plants operated by EDF has recently exacerbated the financial problems of the heavily indebted, state-controlled company. The French government announced in July that it would nationalize it completely as part of the revival of France’s nuclear industry.
Earlier this year, President Emmanuel Macron called for the construction of up to 14 new nuclear power plants to help the country move away from fossil fuels. France covers about 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.
