France to lend EDF for new nuclear units, similar to Czech plan

France, like other European countries, is planning to build new nuclear units, with the question of their financing crucial to overall costs. The French government has announced that it will provide a loan for construction to EDF, which is now wholly state-owned. However, no official decision on construction has yet been made, with the final investment decision expected by the middle of next year.

France has long been Europe’s largest player in nuclear power generation, which has long covered most of the country’s electricity consumption. However, France’s nuclear fleet is ageing, while its replacement with new units remains a distant prospect. So far, the latest nuclear unit to enter operation in France has been the new EPR unit at the Flamanville plant. Its construction was delayed by around 12 years, however, and its budget was exceeded several times.

Although France had originally planned to gradually reduce nuclear power’s share of electricity generation to 50 %, this plan was abandoned in light of the energy crisis. Instead, construction of six new EPR units has been discussed in recent months. As with other new nuclear power plant projects, however, financing is the key issue.