A nuclear reactor to be built in France will be more expensive and take more time than originally planned, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The project will now cost an extra €1 billion ($1.3 billion), and it will be delayed by two years from the original start date of 2013.
Électricité de France SA (EDF) is one of Europe’s biggest utilities, and it has been building the 1,650-megawatt EPR nuclear reactor in Flamanville, Normandy. The reactor was designed by Areva SA, which is also developing a similar project in Finland. That reactor is also over budget and behind schedule and was originally slated to be finished in 2009 for a total cost of €3 billion. The cost has now been exceeded by €2.7 billion.
France is trying to get an EPR in operation as quickly as possible so it can corner the world market for nuclear reactors. A report by the former EDF chief executive officer, François Roussely, published Tuesday said EPR should make its third-generation reactors smaller.
The report found that the ability of the French nuclear industry to build new reactors has now come into question due to the delays (Tara Patel, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, July 29, 2010).