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Concept
Nuclear power in France
Summary
Since the mid 1980s, the largest source of electricity in France has been nuclear power, with a generation of 379.5 TWh in 2019 and a total electricity production of 537.7 TWh. In 2018, the nuclear share was 71.67%, the highest percentage in the world.
Since June 2020, it has 56 operable reactors totalling 61,370 MWe, one under construction (1630 MWe), and 14 shut down or in decommissioning (5,549 MWe). In May 2022, EDF reported that twelve reactors were shut down and being inspected for stress corrosion, requiring EDF to adjust its French nuclear output estimate for 2022 to 280–300 TWh; the estimate of the impact of the decrease in output on the Group's EBITDA for 2022 was assessed to be -€18,5 billion.
Électricité de France (EDF) - the country's main electricity generation and distribution company – manages the country's 56 power reactors. EDF is substantially owned by the French Government, with around 85% shares in government hands.
Nuclear power was introduced in large quantities in France following the 1973 oil crisis according to the Messmer plan. This was based on projections that large amounts of electric power would be required. In the end too much nuclear power capacity was installed, and this has led to relatively low production, load following, and high electricity exports. France exported 38 TWh of electricity to its neighbours in 2017. However, the country still becomes a net importer of electricity when demand exceeds supply, such as in cases of very inclement weather, as in February 2012 when "Germany powers France in cold despite nuclear u-turn" as "France heavily relies on electric heating", which "means that during cold snaps, French electricity demand goes through the roof, forcing the country to import".
France has a long relationship with nuclear power, starting with Henri Becquerel's discovery of natural radioactivity in the 1890s and continued by famous nuclear scientists such as Pierre and Marie Skłodowska Curie.
Before World War II, France had been mainly involved in nuclear research through the work of the Joliot-Curies.
Official source
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