EDF drops biomass plan for coal plant - may host EPR2 prefabrication plant instead
France's EDF energy group said its efforts to convert the Cordemais coal power plant to use wood pellets as fuel has not met the required "technical and economic conditions".
In a statement it said it "salutes all the efforts made by the team who worked on this project" since January 2022, and noted that "thanks to the very strong mobilisation of employees, several solutions have been studied since 2015 to maintain industrial activity on the territory while contributing to the challenges of the energy transition".
However, EDF says, it plans to stop electricity production at Cordemais in 2027 and said it would provide "support for employees throughout the process".
It added that its subsidiary Framatome was now considering the Cordemais site for a prefabrication plant for the main secondary circuit pipes - which bring the steam from the steam generators to the turbine - for the EPR2 nuclear reactors that EDF is planning to roll out in the next wave of French new nuclear build.
In its statement it said: "This is an essential step in the completion of the construction programme. The EDF group and its subsidiary Framatome are already undertaking feasibility studies for its installation on this site and are starting a dialogue with all the stakeholders concerned. The plant could employ around 100 people when it is created and reach around 200 at its peak of activity."
The EPR2 programme
EDF and Framatome are developing a simplified version of the EPR design, known as EPR2. Its aim is to incorporate design, construction and commissioning experience feedback from the EPR reactor, as well as operating experience from the nuclear reactors currently in service.
In May 2021, EDF submitted to the State a proposal for the construction of the new EPR2 reactor programme in France. It proposes to build three pairs of EPR2 reactors, in order, at Penly, Gravelines and at either Bugey or Tricastin.
In February 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the time was right for a nuclear renaissance in France, saying the operation of all existing reactors should be extended without compromising safety and unveiling a proposed programme for six new EPR2 reactors, with an option for a further eight EPR2 reactors to follow.
