EDF IS STARTING UP FLAMANVILLE-3
At long last, EDF has received a green light to start up the testing phase of their new EPR plant at Flamanville. This will be the fourth EPR to startup globally. Taishan-1 and 2 in China and Olkiluoto-3 in Finland had the honour to go online before. There are two more being built, in the UK, at Hinkley Point, using an amended design for UK regulation.
This plagued design had many setbacks. First conceptualised as a design combining German and French philosophies in nuclear design, the design has proven to be overly complex and when the build of Flamanville-3 started in December 2007, it was somehow expected to last for 54 months, while the blueprints weren't finished yet!
The EPR has been object of mockery for the anti-nuclear scene for years now. But EDF took notes and learnt hard lessons and iterated on the design, making a much simplified EPR2. The French government wants to build up to 14 new reactors in the coming years and the EPR2 is going to be the design that will be used for this.
So yes, Flamanville-3 is twelve years late, but it's here now and will probably run for a century from this point. I do hope it is the beginning of a much needed upswing for them as the world needs many more reactors like this.
Vive la EPR!