9 Feb (NucNet): France�s president Nicolas Sarkozy says he is considering the construction of a third European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) unit as part of a long-term energy policy that could see France �conquer world energy markets� and end its use of oil and gas.

During a visit on Friday 6 February to the Normandy construction site for Flamaville-3, the country�s first EPR, Mr Sarkozy told workers that France has the industrial infrastructure to carry out the policy. With Electricité de France (EDF), GDF Suez, Total, Areva, and Alstom, France also has the capacity to develop its energy exporting capacity, he said.

Mr Sarkozy said construction of Flamanville-3 was on schedule to be completed in 2012. This was one of the reasons he had decided to launch the second EPR project at the existing Penly nuclear power plant site in northern France. Construction of the Penly unit is scheduled to start in 2012 in order to ensure continuity for the industry. He said he was in favour of the EPR programme before his election and after his election, and �if a third EPR unit is needed, that is the decision I will make�.

The decision to construct a second EPR unit at Penly was taken because in 2019 a number of existing units will have been operating for 40 years. For each one, a decision will have to be made whether to keep it running or shut it down. With another EPR online it would remove any pressure to keep units online to satisfy electricity demand, allowing the French nuclear safety authority (Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, ASN) to base the decision solely on safety.

Mr Sarkozy said �a real energy revolution� had started in France with nuclear, renewables and energy-saving projects all needing the same attention and investment. He said all three elements of the country�s energy mix must be developed in parallel and there was no �either-or�.

As part of a new EU agreement, France faces the challenge of increasing the share of renewables in energy supply to 23 percent by 2020. This means France must produce wind power equivalent to four EPRs, solar equivalent to one EPR and biomass equivalent to six EPRs. Mr Sarkozy said between now and 2020 the French government and the private sector are planning to invest 80 billion euro (EUR) (103 billion US dollars) in the energy production and energy-saving sectors.

Mr Sarkozy, who gave the green light for Flamanville-3 in 2004 when he was minister of industry, said the 1,600-megawatt unit was a symbol for the revival of nuclear energy and Generation III technology, and the world was watching the project�s progress.

He said a number of countries with a capable nuclear energy industry had stopped investing in the sector and were now finding it difficult to start new-build programmes because the required industrial know-how and capacity had been lost.

�The lesson is clear,� Mr Sarkozy said. �In order to avoid a crisis of energy supply, continuity within the nuclear industry is essential. When Flamanville-3 is finished in 2012, construction of another unit must be ready to start.�

Mr Sarkozy pointed out that nuclear energy made economic sense. He said an EPR would produce about 12 billion kWh of electricity a year and by exporting this energy, an income of about EUR 600 million would be ensured. France is competitive in electricity production and must make the best out of this position, he said.

Making the announcement last month about the Penly EPR, Mr Sarkozy said a project management company will be established by EDF with GDF Suez and the company will be open to other investment partners. At Flamanville last week, he added it was �sensible� to associate GDF Suez with EDF for the second EPR in order to give GDF Suez a fair chance of developing its capabilities in the nuclear field.

GDF Suez was created in September 2008 when Gaz de France and Suez of Belgium approved a merger plan for the new company in which the French government will hold more than 35 percent of the capital.

Mr Sarkozy also said during his visit to Flamanville that the government will soon decide how state-owned nuclear energy company Areva could secure new investment.

Areva has said it needs to sell stakes to private investors or get new financing from the government to help it meet its investment needs.
Mr Sarkozy said the ministers for finance and environment are �studying the industrial partnerships that would be the most profitable for Areva�.

Last month, Germany�s Siemens AG decided to pull out of a nuclear power plant joint venture with Areva by 2012, citing a lack of �entrepreneurial influence�.

France has 59 commercially operational nuclear reactor units and one, Flamanville-3, under construction. It produces more than three quarters of its electricity from nuclear, higher than any other country.

>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)

Construction Begins Of Flamanville-3 Nuclear Block (News in Brief No. 42, 4 December 2007)

Sarkozy Confirms Plans To Build Second EPR In France (News No. 13, 30 January 2009)

The NucNet database currently contains more than 13,000 reports published since 1991. To subscribe or ask for any further information email info@worldnuclear.org

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