Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
France's Advanced Nuclear Reactor Is Scheduled to Begin Operations in
2012
In response to the oil price shocks in 1973, France decided to reduce its
reliance on oil-fired power plants to generate electricity by launching a nuclear
initiative designed to make nuclear power a primary source of electricity. France
built 56 nuclear reactors during the 1970s and 1980s and, according to the
International Energy Agency, spent about 90 percent of its energy R and D
funding on nuclear energy from 1985 through 2001. The French government
reported that its R and D efforts during this time focused on technological
improvements and safety, as well as development of a fast reactor. Today, France
has 58 nuclear reactors generating 75 to 80 percent of its electricity.
France does not license reactors for a specific amount of time, but conducts
reviews every 10 years to grant continued operational authority. Reactors are
expected to operate for about 40 years. Some interest groups in France have called
for an end to nuclear energy, citing radioactive waste and safety issues and noting
that Germany has decided to phase out of nuclear energy and close down its
reactors. However, the French government has maintained its support for nuclear
energy, deciding in a 2005 law to keep the nuclear option open for the future and
planning to potentially replace its current reactors with a new generation of
reactors designed to be more efficient, safer, and less susceptible to external
threats. As part of this effort, France has developed the European Pressurized
Reactor, which uses Generation III technology and will be capable of generating
1,600 megawatts of electricity, a significant increase over the capacity of existing
reactors, which range from 900 megawatts to 1,450 megawatts. Two European
Pressurized Reactors are under construction—one in Flammanville, France,
scheduled to be operational in 2012 and a second in Finland scheduled to be
operational in 2009.
France is one of 13 partners in the Generation IV International Forum that
collaborates on R and D to develop next generation nuclear reactor technologies.
France is conducting R and D on several nuclear reactors, including the sodium-
cooled fast reactor that is a critical element of the U.S. GNEP program. In
addition, France has provided U.S. researchers with access to the French Phenix
fast reactor to study how highly radioactive nuclear fuel might be converted to
less radiotoxic material.
