Summary

France’s Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor, its most powerful at 1,600 MW, was connected to the grid on December 21 after 17 years of construction plagued by delays and budget overruns.

The European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), designed to boost nuclear energy post-Chernobyl, is 12 years behind schedule and cost €13.2 billion, quadruple initial estimates.

President Macron hailed the launch as a key step for low-carbon energy and energy security.

Nuclear power, which supplies 60% of France’s electricity, is central to Macron’s plan for a “nuclear renaissance.”

  • atzanteol
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    1 day ago

    They aren’t burning coal like Germany? That’s how you go “clean”…

      • john89@lemmy.ca
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        14 hours ago

        Looks like there was an end to it.

        Going over budget and missing deadlines is normal for large infrastructure projects.

        If anything, seeing people’s shock at this should reveal how little they know about development.

      • Forester@yiffit.net
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        1 day ago

        It is if your intention is to not introduce carbon into the atmosphere over the 60 year life’s lifespan to 90 year lifespan of the power plant

        • lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com
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          24 hours ago

          Then, the priority should still be renewables, because they are far cheaper, can be build faster and if they malfunction, no one is in danger. France has enough Nuclear to deal with no-sun and no-wind phases (if they work fine, which is the other problem with nuclear energy in France)…

          • atzanteol
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            13 hours ago

            We don’t have enough resources yet for all the renewables we’ll need. Like there simply isn’t enough copper being mined fast enough.

            Nuclear needs to be part of the solution.

            • lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com
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              12 hours ago

              Prices of renewables are dropping for years. If building them becomes difficult because of missing materials, the prices would rise, which is not happening at the moment. Why not just building renewables as long as it’s the far cheaper solution?

              • atzanteol
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                11 hours ago

                I’m not suggesting we stop building renewables. 🙄

        • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Great! At the current rate it’ll only take them 200 more years to replace all their old time bombs.

        • einkorn@feddit.org
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          1 day ago

          French nuclear energy is so heavily subsidised by the state that direct comparison seams hardly fair

        • Forester@yiffit.net
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          1 day ago

          Don’t you understand line must go up, quarterly profits now consequences never .what the fuck is a long-term investment. Get that ideology out of my power plant this instant. /S