France to review nuclear reduction target

The French government will come up with a more "realistic" target to reduce the share of nuclear energy in the country's electricity generation, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot told a news conference in Paris today.

The previous government of Francois Hollande in 2015 established an energy transition law which set a target of reducing the share of nuclear in the power mix to 50% by 2025 from the current 75%.

Hulot told reporters today that this is not realistic, but he did not set a new deadline.

"We will reduce the share of nuclear in the mix as soon as possible," he said, adding that doing so in a hurry would increase France's CO2 emissions and could endanger the security of power supply and put jobs at risk, according to Reuters.

Hulot also said that the Fessenheim nuclear plant, France's oldest, would be closed during President Emmanuel Macron's five-year term.

Elected in May, Macron had promised to respect Hollande's target and Hulot had said in July France might have to close as many as 17 of its 58 reactors by 2025 to achieve it.

State-owned utility EDF, which operates France's nuclear power plants, has argued instead to extend the operation of its nuclear fleet from 40 to at least 50 years.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News