Will Nuclear Reactors Solve the Energy Crisis in France?

With the exacerbation of the energy crisis in France and the rise in electricity prices, France is seeking to move towards nuclear solutions to produce energy.

Emmanuel Macron announced, on 9 November, that France will resume building nuclear reactors to ensure its energy independence and achieve its climate goals.

In a televised speech, the French president said: “In order to guarantee France's energy independence, to ensure the supply of our country with electricity and to achieve our goals, especially carbon neutrality, in 2050, for the first time in decades we will rebuild nuclear reactors in our country, and we will continue to develop renewable energies.”

France relies heavily on nuclear energy to generate electricity, and it is currently building only a single nuclear reactor of the new generation (the European pressurized nuclear reactor). Its construction began in 2007 in Flamanville (Electricité de France) and has not yet been completed.

France is looking to build six reactors of this type, and in the spring, the Electricity of France submitted a file to the government on the feasibility and conditions of such a program.

 

France Energy Crisis

For several months, energy prices have been soaring across the world, raising fears of winter power cuts in Europe, so far untouched by the problems of energy shortages. A crisis partly linked to the energy transition policies put in place to fight against global warming.

According to Franceinfo, “This is a problem that has worried many French people for several weeks. Energy prices are on the rise in the country. Faced with this, the government reacted: the price of gas is blocked until the end of 2022, the increase in electricity is limited to 4% and an inflation compensation has been put in place in particular to help the population face the explosion in fuel prices. But the government could face an energy crisis that lasts longer than expected.”

La Tribune newspaper explained that: “The surge in energy prices across the planet reflects both the insufficiency of investments in “clean” energies, but also the too rapid fall in the amounts devoted to fossil fuels. This imbalance is fueling soaring energy prices, especially electricity.”

 

Nuclear: Independence & Reasonable Prices

In October 2021 the Network of Energy Transportation published the summary of its large study on the evolution of the electricity system in France entitled “Energy Futures 2050.” The study emphasized that the energy crisis at the end of 2021 shows that getting out of fossil fuels is not only a climate imperative: it reminds us that Europe's heavy dependence on hydrocarbon-producing countries can have an economic cost, and that having sources low-carbon production in the territory is also an issue of independence.

Emmanuel Macron in his speech stressed that one of main aims for France to develop nuclear energy production is to stop French reliance on foreign energy supplies. Thus, it will ensure its energy independence.

On the other hand, Nuclear energy can provide the French citizens with reasonable prices for Energy. Emmanuel Macron said, “If we want energy prices to be reasonable and not depend on the outside, we must continue to save energy and invest in the production of carbon-neutral energies on our soil,” the French president said.

“These investments will allow us to live up to our pledges as we conclude COP26 in Glasgow,” Macron added, referring to the 26th COP.

 

Unbalanced Energy Transition

The current surge in energy prices across the world is a reminder that the energy transition from fossil to clean energy is not a long quiet river. As the International Energy Agency (IEA) once again underlines in its annual overview of the state of energy in the world, this situation is first and foremost the result of a lack of investment in sources of clean energy in the face of the climate emergency. As well as a rapid drop in investments in fossil fuels, which it should be remembered that they still account to this day for nearly 80% of the energy consumed in the world.

In short, governments do not go fast enough on one side, but too fast on the other, for the absence of a proactive and properly calibrated policy, with consequences that could turn out to be much more expensive in the end.

In 2019, RTE launched a large study on the evolution of the electricity system entitled “Energy Futures 2050,” in which it said:

“Achieving carbon neutrality involves a transformation of the economy and lifestyles, and a restructuring of the system allowing electricity to replace fossil fuels as the main energy of the country. To meet France's climate commitments, we must get out of the fossil fuels on which our economy and our lifestyles are now based.”

 

What About the Nuclear Dangers?

Nuclear energy was the cause of certain particularly serious and catastrophic accidents which marked the spirits. The concentration of nuclear reactors in France is therefore the subject of controversy, both for fear of a new accident, and for potential environmental impacts.

For instance, the explosion that occurred at the nuclear reactor in the city of Flamanville in northwestern France raised questions about the dangers of nuclear reactors in the country. Especially for its strong presence within the French energy scene, and for the warnings that environmental organizations and political actors have repeatedly described as a “ticking bomb.”

Creene Hervio, deputy director general of the department devoted to the security of nuclear systems equipment at the Institute for Nuclear Radiation Protection and Nuclear Insurance in France, confirmed to France 24 that, “In case of an accident, the radioactive emissions will be much lower, because advanced nuclear reactors possess a small percentage of the nuclear materials.”

She continued: “For reactors equipped with modern technical systems, their manufacturers must prove that they are safe and meet all safety requirements.”

But despite all this, it has not been proven so far that advanced small nuclear reactors have advantages over conventional reactors. There are about 70 projects per year for the production of small-scale nuclear reactors, but most of them are in the process of development.