[Machine Translation] The Nuclear Safety Authority reminds the EDF of two of its nuclear power plants: Bugey and Fessenheim. Diesel backup units may not be able to withstand an earthquake. However, it is precisely in case of earthquake that they would be indispensable. The problem has an ubiquitous dimension. On the two reactors of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant (Haut-Rhin) and on two of the Bugey (Ain) units, diesel-powered emergency generators may not be able to withstand an earthquake. Each reactor has two backup diesel. This is very embarrassing since it is precisely in case of earthquake (or flood) that they would be used to take over the supply of “normal” power, cut by the effects of shaking.
Sud Ouest 31st Oct 2017 read more »
Nuclear: there is reason to worry about EDF’s optimism. Regularly polled by the press on the financing of the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, EDF continues to affirm that it will be carried out in accordance with a “reasonable schedule and for controlled costs”. According to the electrician, the cost of dismantling a reactor is between 350 and 500 million euros depending on the complexity of the installation. As the rapporteur of a parliamentary information mission on the technical and financial feasibility of dismantling French nuclear installations, I was able to question EDF on the method adopted to quantify the costs. The established method, known as Dampierre 09, is based on a single reactor model – the Dampierre reactor – which was then extrapolated to the 58 French reactors. However, both NGOs and independent experts point to the lack of rigor of such an extrapolation, because it does not take into account the historical operating sites, which have significant differences. In addition, this estimate was made prior to the Fukushima disaster, which led to increased security requirements. Presumably expensive requirements which, despite our repeated requests in the framework of this parliamentary information mission, we have never been able to know the amount. Added to this are the special cases of UNGG reactors whose plans have for some lost summers, as well as the memory of the operating history. From this point of view, EDF differs from its European competitors, all of whom have drawn up a reactor-by-reactor financial plan in order to take into account their specificity. This is the reason why the ASN reiterated on July 12 its refusal to validate EDF’s financial estimates, considering that the optimistic assumptions of the operator are not well founded. In particular, there is a lack of details of the calculations made by EDF, as well as full access to the studies carried out.
Alternatives Economiques 31st Oct 2017 read more »
