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New French nuclear reactor running five years late; online in 2016
Jul 20, 2011, 18:03 GMT
Paris - French power company EDF announced Wednesday it was delaying the start of operations at a new nuclear plant until 2016, instead of later this year as originally planned, because of enhanced security testing in the wake of March's partial nuclear meltdown in Japan.
Announcing the new timetable for the EPR reactor in Flamanville, the company also noted that costs would likely balloon to 6 billion euros (8.5 billion dollars). The original estimates had called for a price tag of 3.3 billion euros.
The death of a welder in January slowed down construction. Also awaited were the stress tests of nuclear power plants, which were mandated after the partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan following an earthquake and tsunami. The results are not expected until September.
France has vowed to continue using nuclear power, even after many nations have opted to back away following the March mishap.
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