The opening of the European Pressurized Reactor in Flamanville comes 12 years late on the initial schedule.

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.”

  • Enkrod@feddit.orgEnglish
    1·
    17 hours ago

    Cobalt is more abundant in the earths crust than thorium or uranium by an order of magnitude.

    • TheBlackLounge@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      15 hours ago

      And we need several orders of magnitude more of it per Wh. We’ll run out of sand to make cement to build reactors before we run out of uranium.