Expert commission recommends extending aging French nuclear plants

Feb 13, 2012, 12:15 GMT

Paris - A group of energy experts on Monday recommended that France extend the life of aging nuclear reactors, unless they pose a specific safety threat.

The Energy 2050 commission, which was set up by the government to look at energy supply options over the coming four decades, said France could not afford to close reactors for 'administrative' reasons.

'The optimal path for our country is to prolong the life span of the existing reactors as long as the nuclear safety authority allows,' the report, which was presented to Industry Minister Eric Besson, recommended.

On Sunday, Besson told RTL radio that President Nicolas Sarkozy had already decided to extend the life of the country's 58 nuclear reactors, which were built with a 40-year duration in mind.

There is no official cap on the life span of a reactor.

Last year, the authority gave the green light for a 34-year-old plant on the border with Germany at Fessenheim to continue for another 10 years, provided work was carried out to strengthen the concrete floor of one of the reactors.

Some 22 reactors will hit the 40-year mark within the next decade.

The government says that extending existing plants would cost far less rather than build a raft of costly new reactors.

France is the most nuclear-dependent country in the world, with atomic energy providing three-quarters of the country's electricity supply.

Sarkozy's main challenger for president in this year's elections, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, has pledged to reduce the share of nuclear in the energy mix to 50 per cent by 2025 and increase the share of renewables.

The government has slammed his proposal, saying it would compromise the country's energy independence and drive up the price of electricity.

Monday's expert report recommended against 'setting any objectives today on the share of nuclear' in the energy mix and called on the government to build more third-generation EPR reactors.

Environmentalist groups slammed the report, calling it a 'declaration of love for nuclear power.'