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French President Emmanuel Macron tours Washington, DC starting Wednesday for his first state visit to the Biden administration. One of the reasons for his visit is to promote his plans for a French nuclear renaissance. His entourage includes major players from France’s nuclear energy industry. They are looking to Macron to help boost the development and export of their nuclear technology. This includes small modular and advanced reactors. Unfortunately, this is a very awkward time to promote French nuclear expertise.
While Macron was preparing to travel to Washington, DC, France was getting international assistance to assist them in preventing their nuclear-reliant power grid from collapsing. U.S. and Canadian contractors have been flown into France to help after serious safety concerns forced the closure of half of France’s nuclear power plants. Last week, 23 out of 26 French nuclear power reactors were still offline. Problems include concerns over corrosion cracks and an accumulation of pandemic-related inspection delays.
2022 could have been a great opportunity for the French nuclear industry to demonstrate the promise Macron has talked about. Last February, Macron announced that France intends to construct as many as fourteen new reactors by 2050. Days later, during the Russian invasion Ukraine, Europe began moving away from Russian fossil fuels. Countries such as Germany that had already chosen to abandon nuclear energy were forced to reconsider the shut down of their existing power reactors.
France used to be an energy exporter but recently it has had to import electricity from German. Germany was the country that bore the greatest impact by shifting away from Russian fuels. Britain has normally depended on France for energy to survive harsh winters. It is now asking people to keep their dishwashers and ovens off to avoid blackout.
Other European neighbors of France, including Belgium, Switzerland and Italy might be under even more pressure because of problems that have taken French reactors offline. Clement Bouilloux is the country manager for France at emergency consultancy EnAppSys. He said, “Everyone was relying on the French nuclear power plants.”
The current situation has tarnished France’s reputation as a nuclear power leader and may have caused France to miss out on key nuclear contracts. A few weeks ago, France’s state-owned energy company EDF lost the first part of a forty billion dollar contract to construct Poland’s first nuclear power plant. U.S. company Westinghouse got that contract.
The U.S. and France may be aligned in their response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, they are often competitors when it comes to exporting nuclear technology.
Russia and China have emerged as dominant forces in the international nuclear marketplace. French officials say that transatlantic partnerships would be of benefit to both them and the U.S. A French official speaking anonymously for protocol reasons said, “We have a strong base, and we have the same challenges.
Energy consultancy Enerdata said in an assessment of the nuclear market last year that while the U.S, “had an historic leadership in the sector, its nuclear energy industry has become sluggish in comparison to Russia and China.
Please read Part 2 next