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EDF looks to new build EPRs


reactor and operating experience from those in service. France’s state audit office has said EDF must ensure the financing and profitability of the EPR2 before starting any construction. According to the French Nuclear Energy


Above: Flamanville 3 is an EPR build by EDF Photo credit: Framatome


EDF says it is engaged in the authorisation procedures required to build the first two EPR2 reactors at its Penly NPP, as well as the administrative procedures for its completion and grid connection. EDF’s target is to start preparatory work mid-2024. Following the analysis of the results of the public debate which took place between October 2022 and February 2023 organised by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP - Commission Nationale du Débat Public), the EDF Board of Directors decided to proceed with the planned construction at Penly.


EDF confirmed the following commitments: ● To carry out an exemplary project, in terms of sustainable development with a socially responsible worksite;


● To fully assume its role alongside local authorities and the State with respect to the Major Project type of procedures to be implemented;


● To inform the general public in a transparent and continuous manner consulting the people of the region throughout the life of the project.


In May 2021, EDF submitted a proposal for the construction of the new EPR2 reactor programme to the government. The aim is to contribute, alongside renewable energies, to achieving France’s targets for decarbonisation of the economy and energy security. EDF plans to build three pairs of EPR2 reactors on sites at Penly, Gravelines (Hauts de France) and in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region at Bugey or Tricastin. EDF says this will mobilise 30,000 jobs a year during the construction phase and more than 10,000 during the operating phase. The Penly NPP currently houses two 1330


MWe-class pressurised water reactors. The EPR2 is being developed by EDF and


Framatome incorporating design, construction and commissioning experience from the EPR


Society, EDF has initiated several administrative procedures related to the project. These include the creation authorisation decree (DAC), which will require three years to review, and environmental authorisation which could take a year. After obtaining environmental authorisation, EDF can begin preparatory work at the site. This will involve earthworks and reshaping part of a cliff, which could take up to three and a half years. EDF can pour the first concrete for the first reactor after the DAC is granted, probably around 2027. Construction will then take about seven years for commissioning in 2035. Meanwhile, European nuclear engineering


companies have set up the NUClear Engineering Alliance (NUCEAL) to support the development of EDF’s projects in the European Union. The joint venture includes Spain-based IDOM, France-based Assystem and Slovakia’s VUJE. NUCEAL’s aim is to support the numerous nuclear programmes developed or planned by EDF in the EU such as the EPR2, EPR1200 and the Nuward small modular reactor (SMR). Support for EDF’s UK programmes will also be considered.


EDF is developing large NPP projects, in


France, in the UK and looking to other European countries including Poland, Czech Republic or Netherlands. Assystem noted that the delivery of these programmes will require strong engineering support in each country to secure the resources and expertise to build nuclear power at the pace and scale required. For development of its Nuward SMR, EDF will require a European supply chain to ensure local integration, as well as management of the regulatory requirements specific to each country. Assystem holds a 60% share of the JV, with


IDOM and VUJE taking a 20% each. In February 2022, President Macron announced plans for a nuclear renaissance in France including life extension of all existing reactors without compromising safety and construction of six new EPR2 reactors, with an option for a further eight. EDF aims to participate in tenders abroad for medium- sized reactors and is therefore developing the EPR1200 reactor. Its design is largely based on that of the larger 1,600 MWe EPR2. The Nuward SMR project was launched in September 2019 by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, EDF, Naval Group and TechnicAtome. ■


round up


NEW BUILD INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUSLY developed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor at unit 3 of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP) in south Gujarat, has begun commercial operations. It is India’s first indigenously developed 700 MWe nuclear plant.


THE FIFTH TIER of the internal containment (VZO) has been installed at unit 2 of the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Turkiye. Simultaneously, construction of the external and internal walls of the reactor building is under way, as well as installation of embedded parts for transport, pedestrian and back-up locks. Earlier concreting of the dome was completed of the VZO.


FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF a 168-hour test run, unit 6 of China’s Hongyanhe NPP in Liaoning province has begun commercial operation. It is the 26th unit constructed by China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN). The six units of Hongyanhe NPP Phase I and Phase II comprise China’s largest in-service NPP in terms of installed capacity.


ROSATOM SAID A complex logistics operation had been completed to transport all four steam generators for unit 2 of the Kursk-II NPP. Each steam generator was delivered sequentially: first by river from the manufacturer’s plant, then by special transport to the operator’s town of Kurchatov. Installation of all four steam generators is scheduled for the end of 2023.


PLANT OPERATION FRENCH POWER GROUP Engie and the Belgian federal government have signed an intermediate agreement defining the terms for extending the operation of unit 4 at Doel NPP and unit 3 at Tihange NPP. The agreement aims to ensure a balanced distribution of risks between the two parties.


THE RESTART OF unit 3 at Sweden’s Ringhals NPP, which was due to restart operation the end of June following maintenance work was postponed by three more weeks. Johan Pettersson, a spokesperson for owner/operator Vattenfall said an additional task had been added.


www.neimagazine.com | August 2023 | 7


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