Posted on 06/26/2022 6:05:36 AM PDT by cockroach_magoo
France has long been one of the world’s greatest champions of nuclear energy. France leads the European Union in nuclear production, with the most productive reactors in the bloc, and relies on nuclear power for a larger share of its energy mix than any other country in the world. It makes sense that France should lead the charge for nuclear energy development as they have long been the global poster child for safe and reliable nuclear energy – until now.
A recent flurry of unexpected issues at the Électricité de France (EDF), the state nuclear power operator representing the largest nuclear fleet in Europe, has caused French nuclear energy output to tumble to its lowest levels in 30 years. Around half of the EDF’s massive nuclear fleet has been taken offline, delivering a massive blow to the EU’s energy independence and security in the midst of a worldwide energy crisis.
[...]
Until now, France has been relatively sheltered from the energy crisis squeezing its neighbors. But now the nuclear-reliant nation suddenly finds itself in the same boat as other energy-strapped European nations thanks to a “series of maintenance issues including corrosion at some of France’s ageing reactors, troubles at state-controlled energy group EDF and a years-long absence of significant new nuclear investment,” according to reporting from the Financial Times. The issues of corrosion, which are currently to blame for 12 of France’s 56 offline reactors, could take years to fix. Meanwhile, inflation is soaring and French electric bills have hit record highs.
[...]
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
Nuclear Energy is like everything else—it requires ongoing maintenance which requires a competence level in large institutions.
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True... but the problem seems to be that nuclear plants were so expensive to build, they didn’t spend the extra money needed to make them more ‘maintenance friendly’. I can think of a major nuclear plant here in North America that also has huge piping corrosion issues... and they are pulling their hair out right now trying to figure out what options they can avail themselves of to correct it. They have been working on the issue for years and so far, still haven’t figured out the best way to do it. Meanwhile, the day is rapidly coming when they will be forced to shut down...
—”Energy is the road to wealth.”
If the road is followed.
Nuclear Power Is Poised for a Comeback. The Problem Is Building the Reactors
https://energiesnet.com/nuclear-power-is-poised-for-a-comeback-the-problem-is-building-the-reactors-wsj/
In France, the construction of a cutting-edge reactor at the Flamanville nuclear plant was expected to anchor the country’s independence from foreign energy supplies and churn out electricity with nearly zero greenhouse gases.
The reactor was supposed to be ready by 2012. A decade later, welders are still fixing mistakes discovered seven years ago, squeezing into the reactor’s warren of pipes with soldering irons and using robots to repair more than 100 substandard welds across the reactor’s cooling system.
...Georgia Power is building two reactors, among the first new U.S. nuclear units to break ground in more than three decades. The project is behind schedule and billions of dollars over its estimated cost. “We had to train welders and all these other crafts to be nuclear workers,” said Will Salters, a union official working on the construction at the Vogtle plant in Burke County, Ga. “We hardly had them in the country. All the ones we had were either retired or passed away.”
“The quality was very far from the expected level,” said Julien Collet, deputy director of France’s Nuclear Safety Authority.
I live ten miles from the Moscow, Ohio power plant. The plant was totally built as a nuclear plant but converted to coal fired for its opening in 1990. This was due to over regulation of nuclear. Thank goodness, we had the alternative. Last week the plant shut down permanently due to over regulation of coal. The nearest windmills I know of are the other side of Indianapolis. I hope they have cheap excess energy for me.
Not discussed in the article is the reason why they need to "revitalize" their nuclear industry. The Macron government, until the current energy crisis, was actively reducing France's nuclear contribution. In part, this was to appease the EU's position to replace nuclear power with "green" energy like solar and wind. Macron was actively shutting down older plants but not replacing them with new nuclear plants. Adding more pressure to France's nuclear woes, is that their neighbors rely on exported power from France, putting additional pressure on France's nuclear power system. Now that Russia has cut off Europe from cheap natural gas France is still in the best position to reboot nuclear power, but it will take time to get the new plants online.
Stories like what you posted are what make me thing the USA is in a perhaps irreversible decline. In the 50s the US Navy decided to do the insane: put a nuclear reactor on a submarine. Admiral Rickover had convinced them to do it and then personally kicked ass, and then took names, fired people who weren’t on board, enforced his will on everyone and got it done in a couple of years. Boom. Now it takes years and years just to find qualified welders.
The independent nations joined because their socialist Politian’s and puppets stole and squandered all their nations money. The EU was created by the globalists elitist to gather these failed nations into one pot controlled by a few. We can see what happened when a people literally give up their freedoms for false promises.
The Democrats hated nuclear power, and Three Mile Island was all it needed to scare a week-kneed Congress into halting nuclear power growth.
Yeah, they look down their noses at the blue collar trades, until they need them. I got some really bad news for folks.
By degrading the trades, and insisting that everyone go to college, we now have a huge gap in the labor pool. We have a bunch a newbies that think they should be to boss and a bunch of older fellas looking to quit the game.
Can't wait until we start building an international fleet of fusion reactors.
I suspect that France was quietly ok with their nukes slowly running out their lives and not trying to replace them, as ‘renewables’ were going to save the day. They wanted the carve-out on converting to ‘renewables’ just so they didn’t have to shutdown otherwise healthy reactors, as Germany did at a wholesale level.
Pretty much all of Europe is infected that badly, so hard to believe that France was actually an exception.
“The KGB and its successor foreign intelligence agency SVR funded and funds environmental wacko groups and other leftists who hate energy independence. Those efforts are now bearing fruit for Russia.”
Definitely during the Cold War, probably not even needed thereafter. Seems to me that Europe should have funded groups on the opposite side. Whoops.
“Now it takes years and years just to find qualified welders.”
They’re all Chinese now. The question is whether a few would be willing to come over and help us.
“a flurry of unexpected issues.”
Or, if you’re French, a fleury of unexpected issues.
“Nuclear Energy is like everything else—it requires ongoing maintenance which requires a competence level in large institutions.”
The French have milked their reactors way pbeyond their design life, like we have done.
They need to start replacing them with new ones.
Jane Fondle did her bit for The Revolution with The China Syndrome.
Climate Change is “settled science” we are told, and doubters must be silenced.
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“I’m not troubled by questions that have no answers. I’m troubled by answers that cannot be questioned.”
—Atomic Physicist Richard Feynman
—”Can’t wait until we start building an international fleet of fusion reactors.”
Not to worry!
They will use rivets, no welding needed.
The North Africans that inherit France will in the future refer to them as “Forbidden Zones” and erect fences of scarecrows to keep people away.
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Or mine them for dirty bomb matrial.
Now it takes years and years just to find qualified welders.
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I know people who are ashamed their sons decided to become welders.
All the trades and crafts have been allowed to decline in numbers/quality and then are subjected to onerous regulation.
It is part of the overall plan for us all.
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