France's EDF delays Flamanville 2 reactor return by six days

London — French nuclear operator EDF has delayed the planned return of the 1.3 GW Flamanville-2 nuclear reactor by six days to Dec. 6, it said Nov. 25 after market close.

The reactor has been offline nearly two years for a 10-yearly overhaul that began in January 2019 and will be the first of four reactors offline for over a year to return after EDF extended long-term outages at Flamanville-1 and Paluel 2 to the end of January.

Extended outages at two units at Bugey are also provisionally scheduled to end on Jan. 31.

Grid operator RTE warned Nov. 15 of increased supply risks in February in case of an extended cold spell, with 12 reactors scheduled to start maintenance before the end of February, unprecedentedly early partly due to coronavirus-driven changes to the maintenance schedule this summer.

Strike

Meanwhile, a 24-hour strike starting late Nov. 25 reduced French nuclear output on Nov. 26, with a number of reactors reducing production until 2 pm local time (1300 GTM), EDF transparency data shows, with some hydro and thermal units also affected.

In the medium term, the planned returns of Flamanville 2 and Golfech 1 next week could lift nuclear production above 50 GW for the first time this winter, with 44 of the remaining 54 reactors available, exceeding last year's levels, after the French nuclear fleet stuttered to consecutive monthly record lows starting in November 2019.

France also decided to shut the 1.8 GW Fessenheim nuclear power plant this year, while the new 1.6 GW EPR at Flamanville is delayed to the end of 2022 at the earliest.

Output for 2020 is on track for a record low, trailing 2019 by around 50 TWh despite EDF lifting its 2020 target in October by 10 TWh to a range of 325-335 TWh.

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Source: EDF Transparency