The EDF Board has approved an order for 44 steam generators, to be installed in its 1300 MW nuclear power plants. Areva and Westinghouse are to undertake the supply of 32 and 12 generators respectively, for a total value in excess of 1.5 billion euros. As a result, suitably equipped and highly experienced industrial sites, particularly in the Burgundy region, will see a substantial demand for their services from EDF over the years ahead.
According to Henri Proglio, Chairman and CEO of EDF: "We are making the resources available for sustainable investment in highly proficient industrial facilities and innovative expertise. This order also marks a new phase in the partnership between EDF and Areva, by securing long-term employment in France, particularly in Areva's plants in Burgundy″.
This order for steam generators for the 1300 MW reactor series constitutes part of the program for the gradual replacement of major plant components. Each steam generator, weighing approximately 438 tons, has an interior circuit consisting of 122 km of tubes for the production of steam, which is then used to generate electricity in a large turbine. All steam generator tubes will be manufactured in France (Montbard), whilst the steam generators supplied by Areva will, for the most part, be forged and assembled at Le Creusot and Chalon-sur-Saône. These steam generators will then be installed in the relevant French nuclear power plants (1300 MW series) from 2017 onwards.
Accordingly, EDF has reaffirmed its commitment to the maintenance of the territorial roots of the Group, and specifically to the protection of local jobs. Close links have been forged between Burgundy and EDF since the original construction of EDF's nuclear power plants. Burgundy has developed industrial facilities with specific fields of expertise, e.g. in boiler-making, with the production of steam generators and tubes, which are essential to the upkeep of power plants. These operations have allowed local companies to acquire unique skills.
The replacement of these major components will place increased demands upon all the highly-experienced industrial operators in this sector. This order is an element of EDF's industrial policy in France, which is to deliver investments to the value of tens of billions of Euros in generating capacity, recruitment and training.