France must boost nuclear industry to keep reactor fleet safe - watchdog (updated)

Electricite de France SA

25/05/2023 14:03

(Adds Greenpeace comment on temperature limits)
       PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) - France needs to boost its
nuclear industry with more skilled workers and investment to
keep its fleet of nuclear plants safe, the head of the country's
nuclear watchdog, ASN, said on Thursday.
    "The results of the inspections carried out by the ASN in
2022 show that the technical capabilities of the nuclear supply
chain remain a point of vigilance," the body's president,
Bernard Doroszczuk, said. 
    Last year was marked by major outages at nuclear fleet
operator EDF  EDF.PA  due to stress corrosion at some plants and
a summer drought which led to production cuts as cooling water
became scarce, something that showed "significant efforts" were
still needed to keep the sector safe, Doroszczuk said.
    ASN said that water temperature limits for reactor cooling
need to be closely watched as last year's extreme weather
conditions, which led to an exceptional lifting of the limits,
could become more frequent in the future.
    EDF has requested thermal limits - which determine how much
reactor-cooling water can be returned to the river during a heat
wave - be lifted permanently, saying a study they conducted
showed last year's higher temperatures had no impact on
biodiversity. Some environmental groups oppose the measures,
however.
    "Changing the limits means additional stress for the
environment. If some sites can't respect the existing
regulations due to climate change then these reactors have to be
shut down," a Greenpeace spokesperson said.
    Banking heavily on nuclear energy as a cheap and low-carbon
source of electricity, France's government is planning a new
energy and climate law by autumn to lay the groundwork for the
construction of at least six additional reactors. The bill will
also include new multi-year energy planning. 
    Doroszczuk said plans should include anticipated checks at
existing plants to make sure they will still be safe in the 15
to 20 years to come and "to avoid the risk of deadlock in the
nuclear system as a whole". 

 (Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Benjamin Mallet, writing by
Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Alexandra Hudson)
 ((tassilo.hummel@thomsonreuters.com ; Twitter handle:
@tassilo_hummel;))