Delivery of the first EPR 2 reactor was initially scheduled for 2035 at Penly (Seine-Maritime). The Elysée now mentions 2038 as the new target date. The delay was officially confirmed on March 17 during a meeting of the Nuclear Policy Council.
On December 21, 2024, after 17 years of construction with a 12-year delay, the EPR reactor in Flamanville, the new generation nuclear reactor, was finally connected to the French electrical grid. A «victory» hailed by the Head of State but whose setbacks have long been a topic of discussion. With these delays, the cost of «Flamanville 3» skyrocketed from 3 billion euros to 13.3 billion according to EDF (and 19 billion according to the Court of Auditors).
Despite this challenging first experience, Emmanuel Macron announced in February 2022 a program to build 6 new nuclear reactors with an option for 8 more. The first of these is set to be located, like its older brother, in Normandy at Penly. The site, located about twenty kilometers east of Dieppe, was originally designed for four units. However, only two reactors were built. There is therefore available space to accommodate one or two EPR reactors. The commissioning of the new Normandy EPR was initially announced for 2035. However, a government audit already mentioned a closer timeline of 2037.
The project is now scheduled for 2038 for «the first commissioning». This was indicated on Monday, March 17 by the Elysée in a statement released after a Nuclear Policy Council (CPN) meeting. Evidently, EDF and the State want to give themselves more time, perhaps to avoid the setbacks that plagued the construction of the first-generation EPR reactor in Flamanville.
A source close to EDF quoted by AFP justified this delay: «There is less urgency, so let’s take the time to succeed with the program.» After the difficulties faced by the electric company in 2022 and 2023, «EDF’s production has returned to pre-energy crisis levels, energy conservation efforts have paid off, and as electricity demand is not increasing as expected, there is no urgency.»
EDF and the State still need to finalize the financing plan for the program. Estimated at 51.7 billion euros in 2022 (at 2020 conditions), it now stands at 67.4 billion, which amounts to 79.9 billion at the more recent conditions of 2023, according to a report from the Court of Auditors in January based on EDF’s estimates at the end of 2023. The start of the construction project is expected to be supported by a subsidized loan from the State with a contract on nuclear production with a guaranteed minimum price.
Today, Emmanuel Macron convened the Nuclear Policy Council. Greenpeace France denounces the Elysée’s headlong rush on nuclear power, completely disconnected from economic, industrial, and environmental realities. ⬇️ 🧶 1/7
— Greenpeace France (@greenpeace.fr) March 17, 2025 at 18:54
In Flamanville, the first French EPR is shut down until March 30. The EDF electric group has been conducting technical operations since February 15 that were not planned. It will then be shut down again in 2026, this time for refueling and undergo its first inspection, after a year of operation. Finally, the reactor’s lid will need to be replaced, with the original authorization for use expiring on December 31, 2024.
Le retard a été confirmé lors d’une réunion du Conseil de politique nucléaire le 17 mars. Le retard a été confirmé lors d’une réunion du Conseil de politique nucléaire le 17 mars.
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