4 ms·

What’s the reason that nuclear is so unreliable recently in France?

martin_a 4y ago
In the summer they had lots of cooling issues due to low water, if I remember the news correctly. The article speaks of "ongoing or delayed maintenance, or corrosion problems" as the next reason for the problems.
- meroje 4y ago
  They had to limit the output of warmer water in the stream because it was so hot already there was no margin left.
lm28469 4y ago
A bit of everything, 5 have been stopped due to cracks: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_corrosion_cracking https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_corrosion_cracking A few are having their once in a decade maintenance check Some are waiting for maintenance which were delayed due to covid We didn't train enough maintenance workers because everyone was talking about shifting out of nuclear in favor of renewable (we're using American contractors now afaik) So mostly bad decisions and poor management, it's a political issue more than anything else, it worked fine since the 70s to more or less a decade ago
- gobip 4y ago
  You forget to mention a key point: these maintenance workers were on strike and they were also part of the problem.
  - Symbiote 4y ago
    Why were they on strike? The lack of power suggests it would have been worth a significant bonus for them to work, if it was money they wanted.
    - gobip 4y ago
      At this point? It doesn't matter why they are on strike. They are always on strike. Since WWII, the train company SNCF has been on strike -every- year. Except during covid because there was no train to be on strike from. Good luck getting a train for christmas, it's canceled. Same thing here. It's a crucial moment? It's very important for the french people? Go on a strike and ruin everything. I live in France and I have no sympathy for these strikes. At least the Yellow Vests were striking on a Saturday. Everybody were pissed, but only on Saturdays!
yodsanklai 4y ago
Short answer: Lack of investment caused by incompetent politicians, supported by public opinion. Lot of French are anti-nuclear.
- ttymck 4y ago
  Investment in what? The plant is still running, no? Do they need more plants, repairs to existing, or upgrades to existing? How do I dig further?
  - guggle 4y ago
    > Do they need more plants, repairs to existing, or upgrades to existing? All of these... but no political will because "nuclear bad, renewables good".
    - Gwypaas 4y ago
      Well, what is there to say given the state of Flamanville 3? Currently sitting at ~ €13 B compared to the initial estimate of €3.3 B. With a tentative start date for end of 2023. All the while EDF is being nationalized. Should more money have been spent in even deeper pits? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamanville_Nuclear_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamanville_Nuclear_Power_Plan...
      - yodsanklai 4y ago
        > Should more money have been spent in even deeper pits? If we want electricity in a world without less fossil fuels, I'd say yes. EDIT: renewable can't be the only solution. They are cheap only because they are built on top of existing nuclear/fossil solutions.
        Gwypaas 4y ago
        Renewables already fill that gap at vastly lower costs. Unless you specify that you're one of the about a million people living north of the arctic circle, then sure, do whatever you need.
kkfx 4y ago
Nothing is "unreliable recently", the mess is decade old, simply when EDF was private, after have acquired public made energy systems, they reduce investments to the minimum creating the present mess. Once the damage was so big they can't mask it again they left, leaving the mess to the public. The public, who is abetter, have managed to push some excuses to avoid finger point any private friend and so reveal the mess all at once.
- locallost 4y ago
  This is a made up history - EdF was never private, the state was always majority owner, by law limited to no less than 70% [1]. [1] https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/investors-shareholders/legal-status https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/inves...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

In the summer they had lots of cooling issues due to low water, if I remember the news correctly. The article speaks of "ongoing or delayed maintenance, or corrosion problems" as the next reason for the problems.

meroje 4y ago
They had to limit the output of warmer water in the stream because it was so hot already there was no margin left.

lm28469 4y ago

A bit of everything, 5 have been stopped due to cracks: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_corrosion_cracking https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_corrosion_cracking A few are having their once in a decade maintenance check Some are waiting for maintenance which were delayed due to covid We didn't train enough maintenance workers because everyone was talking about shifting out of nuclear in favor of renewable (we're using American contractors now afaik) So mostly bad decisions and poor management, it's a political issue more than anything else, it worked fine since the 70s to more or less a decade ago

gobip 4y ago
You forget to mention a key point: these maintenance workers were on strike and they were also part of the problem.
- Symbiote 4y ago
  Why were they on strike? The lack of power suggests it would have been worth a significant bonus for them to work, if it was money they wanted.
  - gobip 4y ago
    At this point? It doesn't matter why they are on strike. They are always on strike. Since WWII, the train company SNCF has been on strike -every- year. Except during covid because there was no train to be on strike from. Good luck getting a train for christmas, it's canceled. Same thing here. It's a crucial moment? It's very important for the french people? Go on a strike and ruin everything. I live in France and I have no sympathy for these strikes. At least the Yellow Vests were striking on a Saturday. Everybody were pissed, but only on Saturdays!

yodsanklai 4y ago

Short answer: Lack of investment caused by incompetent politicians, supported by public opinion. Lot of French are anti-nuclear.

ttymck 4y ago
Investment in what? The plant is still running, no? Do they need more plants, repairs to existing, or upgrades to existing? How do I dig further?
- guggle 4y ago
  > Do they need more plants, repairs to existing, or upgrades to existing? All of these... but no political will because "nuclear bad, renewables good".
  - Gwypaas 4y ago
    Well, what is there to say given the state of Flamanville 3? Currently sitting at ~ €13 B compared to the initial estimate of €3.3 B. With a tentative start date for end of 2023. All the while EDF is being nationalized. Should more money have been spent in even deeper pits? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamanville_Nuclear_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamanville_Nuclear_Power_Plan...
    - yodsanklai 4y ago
      > Should more money have been spent in even deeper pits? If we want electricity in a world without less fossil fuels, I'd say yes. EDIT: renewable can't be the only solution. They are cheap only because they are built on top of existing nuclear/fossil solutions.
      - Gwypaas 4y ago
        Renewables already fill that gap at vastly lower costs. Unless you specify that you're one of the about a million people living north of the arctic circle, then sure, do whatever you need.

kkfx 4y ago

Nothing is "unreliable recently", the mess is decade old, simply when EDF was private, after have acquired public made energy systems, they reduce investments to the minimum creating the present mess. Once the damage was so big they can't mask it again they left, leaving the mess to the public. The public, who is abetter, have managed to push some excuses to avoid finger point any private friend and so reveal the mess all at once.

locallost 4y ago
This is a made up history - EdF was never private, the state was always majority owner, by law limited to no less than 70% [1]. [1] https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/investors-shareholders/legal-status https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/inves...

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]