As France’s nuclear regulatory body outlined requirements for substantial post-Fukushima plant upgrades, the head of state-controlled utility EDF said the country remains committed to its reactor fleet.
In contrast to Germany or Switzerland, whose governments voted to phase out nuclear power following the accident in Japan, EDF CEO Henri Proglio said in an interview with Le Monde that the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) found “no objective reason” to close nuclear plants in France.
A recent post-Fukushima report by ASN required upgrades that Proglio estimated would cost upwards of $13 billion over several years. They include flood-proof diesel backup power systems and backup control rooms. Proglio noted EDF had already planned nearly $52 billion in investments to extend the lives of the country’s 58 power reactors, and some of the work would overlap. To help complete that work, EDF hired 2,200 employees in nuclear engineering last year and plans to do the same in 2012, he said in the interview published Wednesday.
France generates more than three quarters of its power from nuclear plants. It is a net exporter of electricity, and Proglio said reactors are to thank for some of the most competitive electricity prices in Europe. The costs of closing nuclear plants, he said, would include higher electric bills, increased greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of energy independence.