Olkiluto 4 years behind...Flamanville already two years behind!

At the EA's GDA meeting on Tuesday we were informed that the reactors to be used in the UK by Areva/Edf will be the Flamanville type and not the same as Olkiluoto.

Given that Flamanville is already two years behind schedule we should expect the first new nuke. by 2020 at the earliest.

What happens in 2015 when coal and old nuclear come off stream? Will the lights go out?

It is very important to get on with energy efficiency,  alternatives and new build gas.

There are too many pipe dreams in the nuclear industry.

Nuclear lightning strikes twice, three times…

Blogpost by jmckeati - July 6, 2010 at 5:02 PMAdd comment

There are two European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) being built in Europe right now, one in Olkiluoto in Finland and one in Flamanville in France. Designed by French nuclear giant AREVA, the third generation so-called state of the art design is supposedly about to usher in the nuclear ‘renaissance’ across the planet. We emphasise the ‘supposedly’. How are things looking?

The Olkiluoto-3 reactor is four years late (and counting) and a massive 2.7 billion Euros over budget (and counting). It has been the scene of thousands of construction defects and safety violations. The project has rapidly devoured AREVA’s profits. The farce at Olkiluoto made page 3 of Le Monde last week.

It’s now been revealed that Olkiluoto-3’s sister reactor, Flamanville-3, is two years behind schedule. It’s only been under construction for three. The project is also at least 20% over budget. Knowing what we know, would you bet against the schedule slipping even further behind and the budget rocketing even higher?

They say lightning never strikes in the same place twice but when it comes to the EPR, that lightning just keeps on coming. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: what is it about the nuclear industry and its inability to learn lessons? (It was also announced this week that the budget for Brazil’s Angra 3 reactor – also being built by AREVA – has ballooned by another US$550 million.)

Last week Greenpeace called for the disastrous construction of Olkiluoto-3 to be halted. They should do the same at Flamanville and Angra before they end up in the same mess. It’s only matter of time before they do.