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After six months of work, the Senate’s commission of inquiry into electricity submitted its report on July 4. Among the conclusions of their work, centrist senator Vincent Delahaye and socialist Franck Montaugé affirm that an “ambitious and sustainable revival of the nuclear sector is essential.”
While the commission of inquiry estimates that electricity needs should grow to reach 700 terawatt hours by 2050, the senators envisage that 52 to 61% of production will be provided by nuclear power .
14 EPRs by 2050: “If we succeed, we will not be far from a miracle”
Aligned with the government’s nuclear revival objectives, the inquiry committee calls for the construction of 14 additional EPR reactors by 2050, but sets this number as a maximum to be achieved. “Honestly, before starting the inquiry committee, I thought that 14 reactors was a minimum figure. But all the hearings we have conducted confirm that this objective is already very ambitious,” confides Vincent Delahaye.
During their hearings, the senators concluded that the next EPR 2, after that of Flamanville, whose construction site was delayed by more than ten years , would not see the light of day until “2037 or 2038”, contrary to the objective displayed by the State of commissioning by 2035. After this date, to meet the construction deadlines for the 13 other reactors by 2050, “we would have to build almost one reactor per year, if we manage to do that we will not be far from a miracle”, estimates Vincent Delahaye.
“So we can’t do permanent stop and go”
In order not to base the revival of nuclear power solely on the construction of new EPRs, the senators also propose to “extend beyond 60 years , in strict compliance with safety standards, as many reactors as possible in the current nuclear fleet”. A year ago, the nuclear safety authority already gave its approval for the extension of the life of a reactor at Tricastin, in the Drôme, from 40 to 50 years. Since 2014, EDF has also been carrying out a vast program called “grand carénage” to modernize its power plants and extend their life beyond 50 years.
Finally, the commission of inquiry calls for “urgently restarting the fourth generation of nuclear reactors”. These reactors, which consume less uranium, would make it possible to cope with a scarcity of the resource. “On a global scale, it has been planned to triple nuclear production by 2050, uranium reserves would run out by 2070”, explains Vincent Delahaye. By investing in this new generation of less consuming reactors, France “would have fuel for hundreds of years”, adds the senator.
These measures defended by the Senate, however, require “colossal investments that must be amortized over time,” warns Vincent Delahaye, “so we cannot do a permanent stop and go.” While a period of political and parliamentary instability has opened since the dissolution , the sustainability of these investments seems uncertain. The rapporteur and the president of the inquiry committee are nevertheless confident, their report was adopted almost unanimously and is therefore the subject of a consensus between the political forces of the Senate.
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The post Nuclear: Senate recommends extending the lifespan of power plants “beyond 60 years” and building 14 EPRs appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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