EDF Driving Nuclear Power Agenda to 2020

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) Europe's largest energy company, Electricite de France S.A. (EPA:EDF) (EDF) (Paris, France), is determined to drive ahead its nuclear power strategy over the coming decade, in the face of rising anti-nuclear sentiment in Europe and the imminent arrival of stricter safety regulations.

Outlining its energy strategy to 2020, the French energy giant has put forward plans to be the world's largest power producer by 2020, with a target of 200,000 megawatts (MW), up from today's 150,000 MW. Nuclear power will command the lion's share of that, with 50% of the total, while 25% will come from thermal power, and 25% from hydraulic and other renewable energy sources. EDF owns and operates 58 nuclear reactors in France and 16 in the U.K, where it is at the forefront of the U.K.'s forthcoming new nuclear build programme.

Nuclear power has taken a bashing in recent months following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, which was severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11. The ripple effect of that has been seen in countries like Germany, Switzerland and Italy postponing their nuclear power programmes, with Germany expected to reverse its plans to continue with nuclear power and exit the nuclear space by 2022.

At the company's annual shareholder conference yesterday, EDF Chief Executive Officer Henri Proglio stated: "Safe nuclear generation is perfectly possible provided that it is based on transparency, on a culture of continuous improvement and on responsible operators who--like EDF--combine the three areas of competence: operation, construction and design."

He added: "Providing competitively priced and carbon-free electricity, nuclear generation has a rightful place in the world's energy mix. Thanks to the continuous improvement in its nuclear fleet, EDF has become the global benchmark, capable of placing its skills and expertise at the disposal of operators or countries wishing to produce and develop safer nuclear energy".

The European Union (E.U.) is currently evaluating new safety criteria for its proposed 'stress tests' for nuclear facilities. Due in the coming weeks, the stress tests will outline more rigorous testing for safety and maintenance at nuclear reactors, although the tests are expected to focus on natural-diasters scenarios rather than man-made threats, including terrorist bomb attacks and planes being flown into reactors. For additional information, see May 6, 2011, article - Europe's Nuclear Stress Test Details Due Next Week.

EDF also plans to expand its international power generation footprint by 50% by 2020. The company has increased its presence outside of Europe into China, Russia and the United States, but the company said it will also now be focusing its attention on fast-growing markets including Turkey, Poland and Brazil.

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