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Released August 18, 2020 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The impact of COVID-19 on the nuclear power sector is being felt in Europe with French energy major Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris) revealing that the construction of two new plants has been delayed, forcing startup dates to be moved.
The company, which manages a fleet of more than 57 reactors in France, said that the pandemic has caused a "slowdown in construction and maintenance of the fleet due to COVID-19 in France and the United Kingdom." In particular, the company expects noticeable delays with the Flamanville 3 project in France and the Hinkley Point C (HPC) project in the U.K.. In its half-yearly financial report, the company stated: "As regards Flamanville 3, in the context of health crisis, all construction activities have been temporarily interrupted between mid-March and early May, which could result in further delays and additional costs. The instruction of the upgrading of the main secondary system welds and other technical issues is ongoing and remains subject to ASN approval." The company also confirmed that the postponement of planned unit outages in 2020 will also affect the maintenance programme in 2021 and 2022 (for which the nuclear output forecast is estimated at between 330 and 360 terawatt hours (TWh) each year).
In the U.K. "the health crisis has slowed down nuclear construction and maintenance projects. As regards HPC, the risk of delays in the commissioning schedule is high. In September 2019, it has been estimated at 15 months for Unit 1 (planned for the end of 2025) and at nine months for Unit 2. These postponements would lead to an additional cost of approximately £700 million ($824 million). The impact of COVID-19 on the schedule and costs are currently being assessed (including impacts on supplier production conditions and associated delivery times) and increase the risk of postponement of planned commissioning dates. A comprehensive study to assess the need for an updated schedule and costs is currently underway and will be completed in the coming months."
Both projects are among the early adopters of the company's European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology, developed with AREVA S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France), which has run into a number of lengthy and costly technical issues. The Flamanville 3 project was meant to showcase the EPR, but the start date has been pushed back repeatedly from its original date of 2012 while costs have rocketed from an original budget of 3.3 billion euro ($3.9 billion) to 10.5 billion ($12.4 billion). Last year, Industrial Info reported that the costs for Hinkley Point C have increased by a few billion euro in recent years. For additional information, see October 8, 2019, article - Flagship U.K. Nuclear Project Faces Further Price Hike and Delays.
The world's first European Pressurised Reactor was fully commissioned in December 2018 at the Taishan nuclear power plant in China. For additional information, see December 24, 2018, article - First European Pressurised Reactor Goes Live in China.
To offset the impact of the health crisis on its finances, EDF is implementing a cost cutting plan and a disposal plan that will seek to make an extra 500 million euro ($588 million) in reductions to operating expenses between 2019 and 2022, and a stabilisation of net investments to around 15 billion euro ($17.6 billion) on average per year over 2020-2022. It also aims to sell assets to raise approximately 3 billion euro ($3.5 billion) over the period.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The company, which manages a fleet of more than 57 reactors in France, said that the pandemic has caused a "slowdown in construction and maintenance of the fleet due to COVID-19 in France and the United Kingdom." In particular, the company expects noticeable delays with the Flamanville 3 project in France and the Hinkley Point C (HPC) project in the U.K.. In its half-yearly financial report, the company stated: "As regards Flamanville 3, in the context of health crisis, all construction activities have been temporarily interrupted between mid-March and early May, which could result in further delays and additional costs. The instruction of the upgrading of the main secondary system welds and other technical issues is ongoing and remains subject to ASN approval." The company also confirmed that the postponement of planned unit outages in 2020 will also affect the maintenance programme in 2021 and 2022 (for which the nuclear output forecast is estimated at between 330 and 360 terawatt hours (TWh) each year).
In the U.K. "the health crisis has slowed down nuclear construction and maintenance projects. As regards HPC, the risk of delays in the commissioning schedule is high. In September 2019, it has been estimated at 15 months for Unit 1 (planned for the end of 2025) and at nine months for Unit 2. These postponements would lead to an additional cost of approximately £700 million ($824 million). The impact of COVID-19 on the schedule and costs are currently being assessed (including impacts on supplier production conditions and associated delivery times) and increase the risk of postponement of planned commissioning dates. A comprehensive study to assess the need for an updated schedule and costs is currently underway and will be completed in the coming months."
Both projects are among the early adopters of the company's European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology, developed with AREVA S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France), which has run into a number of lengthy and costly technical issues. The Flamanville 3 project was meant to showcase the EPR, but the start date has been pushed back repeatedly from its original date of 2012 while costs have rocketed from an original budget of 3.3 billion euro ($3.9 billion) to 10.5 billion ($12.4 billion). Last year, Industrial Info reported that the costs for Hinkley Point C have increased by a few billion euro in recent years. For additional information, see October 8, 2019, article - Flagship U.K. Nuclear Project Faces Further Price Hike and Delays.
The world's first European Pressurised Reactor was fully commissioned in December 2018 at the Taishan nuclear power plant in China. For additional information, see December 24, 2018, article - First European Pressurised Reactor Goes Live in China.
To offset the impact of the health crisis on its finances, EDF is implementing a cost cutting plan and a disposal plan that will seek to make an extra 500 million euro ($588 million) in reductions to operating expenses between 2019 and 2022, and a stabilisation of net investments to around 15 billion euro ($17.6 billion) on average per year over 2020-2022. It also aims to sell assets to raise approximately 3 billion euro ($3.5 billion) over the period.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
