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.”
That’s why I’m hoping for the smaller modular designs that can be certified and studied very well.
Both are good. Usually scale gives better efficiency, though nuclear is already so efficient that it isn’t strictly required. I’m in favor of moving forward with both, and we should be getting the government to support the development, at least by removing unnecessary barriers that are there just to prop up dirty energy a little longer.