[Machine translation] That would not be the last delay. If the Nuclear Safety Authority has given the green light for a start-up of the Flamanville EPR scheduled for the end of 2018, its technical arm, the IRSN (the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety) said on Tuesday, through the voice of one of its officials, that this calendar would be difficult to respect. “In view of EDF’s schedule and what remains to be done, it is tense”, commented Thierry Charles, deputy director general in charge of safety, during a meeting with journalists. “It’s never a quiet long river to start a new reactor that is a bit of the first of its kind … We can expect difficulties during the tests, it’s very clear, it’s not a long, quiet river. Maybe it’s going to be fine, maybe there will be difficulties.” A response from Normand, in a way, for a reactor located in Normandy. Fuel loading and reactor start-up is scheduled for the end of 2018 before the reactor is connected to the grid in the second quarter of 2019. According to EDF, the rider is expected to reach full power on 16 November 2019. An unusual precision for a project that , since the beginning of its construction at the end of 2007, has accumulated the delays. The EPR was originally scheduled for 2012.
France Info 6th Sept 2017 read more »
