Delay in loading fuel in Flamanville: “We don’t have two weeks,” estimates the Minister of Industry

Given the numerous setbacks faced by the construction site of the EPR in Flamanville, a new generation nuclear reactor, the announcement of moving reactor fuel loading to mid-April instead of March 31 seems almost anecdotal.

Industry Minister Roland Lescure told France Info this Wednesday that we “will not meet the deadline in two weeks.” “We waited twelve years,” he added. The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN, Nuclear Watchdog) said it would begin public consultation “in the coming days” on the draft commissioning decision, with fifteen days or even three weeks before making its decision, a prerequisite for EDF. be able to load nuclear fuel rods into the reactor. “So by the end of April we will see what the ASN decision will be,” the minister said.

“Starting a nuclear power plant is not launching a Clio”

So far, the EDF group has announced fuel loading in the first quarter of 2024, a target that has been repeated several times. For now, the “connection” date, that is, connecting to the network, remains set at mid-2024, according to EDF’s latest regulatory information published in December 2023.

Asked about sticking to that timetable, the minister was very cautious: “Running a nuclear power plant is not the same as launching a Clio or a 208, it takes a little more time,” he said. “We will usually load fuel if all goes well after public consultation, which is by the end of April. Then there will be several months of capacity expansion, and then the plant will start operating,” he explained.

If the launch is confirmed for summer 2024, it will be 12 years behind schedule, with the total cost of the project now estimated at 13.2 billion euros, according to EDF, four times the original budget of 3.3 billion euros.

“We have waited a long time, this EPR, it will work,” concluded Roland Lescure, hoping to “learn lessons” for the creation of EPR2, planned by Emmanuel Macron, as part of the restart of the atom.