French President Emmanuel Macron bets on nuclear power to fight climate change

President Emmanuel Macron says France will build six nuclear reactors, betting on technology that produces electricity with almost no greenhouse gas emissions.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a plan to build six new nuclear reactors, betting on a technology that produces electricity with almost zero greenhouse gas emissions, but faces questions about safety and the high cost of new projects.

As part of the plan, Electricite de France, the country’s state-controlled power company, reached a deal to buy part of the nuclear steam turbine business of General Electric, including several factories in France. The two sides didn’t disclose a price.

The Macron government is making nuclear energy the cornerstone of the country’s response to climate change. He is also trying to turn the tide on a slide in public support for the nuclear industry across the West.

Thursday’s announcement is among the world’s most ambitious reactor construction plans since the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, dealt a blow to efforts to build new reactors worldwide.

In addition to the six reactors, Mr Macron said the government would study the construction of another eight in France and launch a sweeping plan to bolster the country’s nuclear construction industry. He set a target date of 2035 for the first of the new reactors to come online.

“We are now convinced, and I think that it’s scientifically established, that if we want to succeed in the climate transition, the energy sovereignty of our country, and industrial production, we have to make this choice,” Mr Macron told workers on Thursday at a GE factory in Belfort, near the Swiss border.

Mr Macron is attempting to counter opponents of nuclear energy, who have argued the technology isn’t safe and is too costly to be part of the solution to the climate crisis.

Across the Rhine, Germany is in the process of shutting down all its nuclear reactors. Belgium has said it would do the same. In the US, utilities are also shutting down reactors.

France already relies on nuclear power to generate more than 70 per cent of its electricity. But on average, its fleet of reactors are 37 years old, putting pressure on authorities to bring a new generation on to the market in the coming years.

France’s nuclear industry has struggled mightily to build new reactors. EDF projects in Finland, France and Britain are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. France’s industry has lost much of its expertise in the nuclear construction slump following the Fukushima accident.

“There was a moment when we stopped producing,” Mr Macron said, “and that rupture really weakened the industry.”

GE bought the nuclear turbine business from French company Alstom in 2015 for €9.7bn – a deal that Mr Macron himself helped broker when he was an aide to former president Francois Hollande. The division has since suffered as electricity utilities around the world slashed their investments in nuclear energy and instead invested heavily in renewable technologies such as wind and solar power.

Last year, GE proposed to lay off some 200 workers from the division. That posed a problem for Mr Macron as he is gearing up to run for re-election in April.

The Wall Street Journal