![EPR pressure vessel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/EPR_pressure_vessel.png)
The EPR is a
third generation Third generation may refer to:
* ''Third Generation'' (album), a 1982 album by Hiroshima
* ''The Third Generation'' (1920 film), an American drama film directed by Henry Kolker
* ''The Third Generation'' (1979 film), a West German black comedy b ...
pressurised water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is ...
design. It has been designed and developed mainly by
Framatome
Framatome () is a French nuclear reactor business. It is owned by Électricité de France (EDF) (75.5%), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (19.5%), and Assystem (5%).
The company first formed in 1958 to license Westinghouse's pressurized water reacto ...
(part of
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
between 2001 and 2017) and
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. (literally ''Electricity of France''), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. Headquartered in Paris, with €71.2 billion in revenues in 2 ...
(EDF) in France, and
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
in Germany. In Europe this reactor design was called European Pressurised Reactor, and the internationalised name was Evolutionary Power Reactor, but it is now simply named EPR.
The first operational EPR unit was China's
Taishan 1, which started commercial operation in December 2018.
Taishan 2 started commercial operation in September 2019.
European units have been so far plagued with prolonged construction delays and substantial cost overruns. The first EPR unit to start construction, at
Olkiluoto
The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant ( fi, Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos, sv, Olkiluoto kärnkraftverk) is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit VVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by ...
in Finland, achieved
criticality in December 2021.
It is expected to begin commercial operation after February 2023, a delay of thirteen years.
The second EPR unit to start construction, at
Flamanville in France, is also facing a decade-long delay (to 2024).
Two units at
Hinkley Point
Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, north of Bridgwater and west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett.
Excavations in 2014 and 2015, carried out by Cotswold Archaeology and f ...
in the United Kingdom received final approval in September 2016; the first unit is expected to begin operating in 2027.
EDF has acknowledged severe difficulties in building the EPR design. In September 2015, EDF stated that the design of a "New Model" EPR was being worked on, which will be easier and cheaper to build.
Design
First EPR design
The main design objectives of the
third generation Third generation may refer to:
* ''Third Generation'' (album), a 1982 album by Hiroshima
* ''The Third Generation'' (1920 film), an American drama film directed by Henry Kolker
* ''The Third Generation'' (1979 film), a West German black comedy b ...
EPR design are increased safety while providing enhanced economic competitiveness through improvements to previous
pressurised water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is ...
designs scaled up to an electrical power output of around 1650
MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
(net)
with thermal power of 4500 MW. The reactor can use
5% enriched uranium oxide fuel,
reprocessed uranium
Reprocessed uranium (RepU) is the uranium recovered from nuclear reprocessing, as done commercially in France, the UK and Japan and by nuclear weapons states' military plutonium production programs. This uranium makes up the bulk of the material s ...
fuel or 100%
mixed uranium plutonium oxide fuel, clad in Areva's M5 variant of
zirconium alloy
Zirconium alloys are solid solutions of zirconium or other metals, a common subgroup having the trade mark Zircaloy. Zirconium has very low absorption cross-section of thermal neutrons, high hardness, ductility and corrosion resistance. One of the ...
.
The EPR is the evolutionary descendant of the
Framatome
Framatome () is a French nuclear reactor business. It is owned by Électricité de France (EDF) (75.5%), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (19.5%), and Assystem (5%).
The company first formed in 1958 to license Westinghouse's pressurized water reacto ...
N4 and
Siemens Power Generation Division "" reactors.
Siemens ceased its nuclear activities in 2011.
The EPR was designed to use
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
more efficiently than older
Generation II reactor
A generation II reactor is a design classification for a nuclear reactor, and refers to the class of commercial reactors built until the end of the 1990s. Prototypical and older versions of PWR, CANDU, BWR, AGR, RBMK and VVER are among them.
...
s, using approximately 17% less uranium per
kilowatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
of electricity generated than these older reactor technologies.
The design had gone through a number of iterations. The 1994 conceptual design had a power output of 1450 MWe, the same as the Framatome N4, but using Siemens Konvoi derived instrumentation and including a new
core catcher
A core catcher is a device provided to catch the molten core material ( corium) of a nuclear reactor in case of a nuclear meltdown and prevent it from escaping the containment building.
A core catcher is made from a special concrete ceramic to pr ...
safety system. In 1995, there was concern over excessive cost per MW, and output was increased to 1800 MWe in the 1997 design, though this was subsequently reduced to 1650 MWe in the final certified design.
The EPR design has several active and passive protection measures against accidents:
*Four independent emergency cooling systems, each providing the required cooling of the
decay heat
Decay heat is the heat released as a result of radioactive decay. This heat is produced as an effect of radiation on materials: the energy of the alpha, beta or gamma radiation is converted into the thermal movement of atoms.
Decay heat occurs na ...
that continues for 1 to 3 years after the reactor's initial shutdown (i.e., 300% redundancy)
*Leak-tight containment around the reactor
*An extra container and cooling area if a molten core manages to escape the reactor (see
containment building
A containment building is a reinforced steel, concrete or lead structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of . The containment i ...
and
core catcher
A core catcher is a device provided to catch the molten core material ( corium) of a nuclear reactor in case of a nuclear meltdown and prevent it from escaping the containment building.
A core catcher is made from a special concrete ceramic to pr ...
)
*Two-layer concrete wall with a total thickness of 2.6 m, designed to withstand impact by aeroplanes and internal overpressure
The EPR has a design maximum
core damage frequency
Core damage frequency (CDF) is a term used in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) that indicates the likelihood of an accident that would cause severe damage to a nuclear fuel in a nuclear reactor core.
Core damage accidents are considered extreme ...
of 6.1 × 10
−7 per station per year.
EPR 2 design
, EDF acknowledged the difficulties it was having building the EPR design, with its head of production and engineering, Hervé Machenaud, saying EDF had lost its dominant international position in design and construction of nuclear power stations. Machenaud indicated EDF was considering designing two new lower powered reactors, one with output of 1500 MWe and the other 1000 MWe. Machenaud stated there would be a period of reflection on the best way to improve the EPR design to lower its price and incorporate
post-Fukushima safety improvements.
In September 2015, EDF's chief executive
Jean-Bernard Lévy
Jean-Bernard Lévy (born 18 March 1955) is a French businessman, and the CEO and chairman of EDF.
Early life
Born on 18 March 1955, the son of a doctor, Lévy attended the Lycée Pasteur in Neuilly-sur-Seine. His parents sent him to England for ...
stated that the design of a "New Model" EPR, or "EPR 2",
was being worked on, which will be easier to build, to be ready for orders from about 2020,
describing it in 2016 as "a reactor offering the same characteristics as today’s EPR but it will be cheaper to build with optimised construction times and costs".
In 2016, EDF planned to build two new model EPR reactors in France by 2030 to prepare for renewing its fleet of older reactors.
However, following financial difficulties at Areva and its merger with EDF, French Ecology Minister
Nicolas Hulot
Nicolas Jacques André Hulot (; born 30 April 1955) is a French journalist and environmental activist. He is the founder and honorary president of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, an environmental group established in 1990.
Hulot ran as a candida ...
said in January 2018, "for now
uilding a new model EPRis neither a priority or a plan. Right now the priority is to develop renewable energy and to reduce the share of nuclear."
The industry-government plan for 2019–2022 included work on "a new version of the EPR".
In July 2019, the French nuclear safety authority
ASN issued an opinion on the safety of an outline EPR new model (EPR 2) design. It found that general safety was on the whole satisfactory, though identifying areas for further examination. The most notable simplification is a single layer containment building with a liner as opposed to the EPR's double layer with a liner. ASN highlighted that the EPR design basis assumption that primary and secondary cooling circuit piping could not fail may no longer be appropriate for the simplified EPR 2, and requires additional safety demonstrations.
Another simplification is that, unlike the first EPR design, the EPR 2 design does not allow access to the reactor building for maintenance during reactor operation, which simplifies the design of the reactor building.
In 2020, French Energy Minister
Élisabeth Borne
Élisabeth Borne (; born 18 April 1961) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since May 2022. She is a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party Renaissance.
A civil engineer, government official and manager of sta ...
announced the French government would not decide on the construction of any new reactors until the much delayed
Flamanville 3
The Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant is located at Flamanville, Manche, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. The power plant houses two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) that produce 1.3 GWe each and came into service in 1986 and 1987, respectivel ...
started operation after 2022. EDF had estimated building six EPR 2 nuclear reactors would cost at least €46 billion.
A
Court of Audit A Court of Audit or Court of Accounts is a Supreme audit institution, i.e. a government institution performing financial and/or legal audit (i.e. Statutory audit or External audit) on the executive branch of power.
See also
*Most of those in ...
report concluded that EDF is no longer able to finance EPR 2 construction on its own, so financing and profitability issues need to be resolved.
The audit office requires that EDF ensure the financing and profitability of EPR 2 before constructing any in France.
In January 2022, junior environment minister
Bérangère Abba
Bérangère Abba (born 22 October 1976) is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as Secretary of State for Biodiversity in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex from 2020 to 2022. A lingerie shopkeeper, she wa ...
said that plans for new EPR 2 reactors, to be operational between 2035 and 2037, should be submitted around 2023.
The decision was accelerated by the impact of
2021 global energy crisis The 2021 global energy crisis is an ongoing shortage of energy across the world, affecting countries such as the United Kingdom and China, among others.
Background
In December 2020, after months of restrictions, China fully blocked coal import ...
.
Operational plants
Olkiluoto 3 (Finland)
![OL3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/OL3.jpg)
Construction of the
Olkiluoto
The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant ( fi, Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos, sv, Olkiluoto kärnkraftverk) is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit VVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by ...
3 power station in Finland began in August 2005.
The station will have an electrical power output of 1600
MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
(net).
The construction was a joint effort of French
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
and German
Siemens AG
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
through their common subsidiary Areva NP, for Finnish operator
TVO
TVO (stylized as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in Toron ...
. Siemens ceased nuclear activities in 2011. Initial cost estimates were about €3.7 billion, but the project has since seen several severe cost increases and delays, with latest published cost estimates (from 2012) of more than €8 billion. The station was initially scheduled to go online in 2009.
In May 2006, construction delays of about one year were announced, following quality control problems across the construction. In part, the delays were due to the lack of oversight of subcontractors inexperienced in nuclear construction. The delays led to disappointing financial results for Areva. It blamed delays on the Finnish approach to approving technical documentation and designs.
In December 2006, TVO announced construction was about 18 months behind schedule so completion was now expected 2010–11, and there were reports that Areva was preparing to take a €500 million charge on its accounts for the delay.
At the end of June 2007, it was reported that
Säteilyturvakeskus (STUK), the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, had found a number of safety-related design and manufacturing 'deficiencies'. In August 2007, a further construction delay of up to a year was reported associated with construction problems in reinforcing the reactor building to withstand an aeroplane crash, and the timely supply of adequate documentation to the Finnish authorities.
In September 2007, TVO reported the construction delay as "at least two years" and costs more than 25% over budget. Cost estimates by analysts for the overrun range up to €1.5 billion.
A further delay was announced in October 2008, making the total delay three years, giving an expected online date of 2012. The parties are in arbitration to resolve a dispute over responsibility for the delays and final cost overruns.
As of May 2009, the station was at least three and a half years behind schedule and more than 50 percent over-budget.
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
and the utility involved "are in bitter dispute over who will bear the cost overruns and there is a real risk now that the utility will default".
In August 2009, Areva announced €550 million additional provisions for the build, taking station costs to €5.3 billion, and wiped out interim operating profits for the first half-year of 2009.
The dome of the containment structure was topped out in September 2009. 90% of procurement, 80% of engineering works and 73% of civil works were completed.
In June 2010, Areva announced €400 million of further provisions, taking the cost overrun to €2.7 billion. The timescale slipped from June 2012 to the end of 2012.
In December 2011, TVO announced a further delay to August 2014.
As of July 2012, the station was scheduled to start electricity production no earlier than 2015, a schedule slippage of at least six years.
In December 2012 Areva's Chief Executive estimated costs to €8 billion.
In September 2014, Areva announced that operations would start in 2018. In October 2017, the date was pushed back to the spring of 2019. During testing between 2018 and 2021, multiple further delays were announced, of around three years in total.
Olkiluoto 3 achieved first
criticality in December 2021.
Grid connection took place in March 2022,
In May 2022, foreign material was found in the turbine steam reheater, and the plant was shut down for about three months of repair work. Regular production had been expected to begin in December 2022, after a test production phase. On 28 October 2022, it was announced cracks of a few centimetres had been found in all four of the feedwater pump impellers. The cause of the cracks was yet to be determined, and it was unclear how the commissioning schedule would be affected.
The feedwater pumps are larger than in other nuclear reactors.
Taishan 1 and 2 (China)
![Taishan Nuclear Power Plant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Taishan_Nuclear_Power_Plant.jpg)
In 2006, Areva took part in the first bidding process for the construction of four new nuclear reactors in China, together with Toshiba-owned
Westinghouse and Russian
Atomstroyexport
Atomstroyexport (russian: Атомстройэкспорт) is the Russian Federation's nuclear power equipment and service exporter. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Rosatom. The activities of Atomstroyexport are financially supported by the Russ ...
. However Areva lost this bid in favour of Westinghouse's
AP1000
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
reactors, in part because of Areva's refusal to transfer the expertise and knowledge to China.
Subsequently, Areva managed to win a deal in February 2007, worth about €8 billion ($10.5 billion) for two EPRs located in
Taishan __NOTOC__
Taishan may refer to:
*Mount Tai or Taishan (), Shandong, China
*Taishan District, Tai'an (), named after the Mount Tai, a district in Tai'an, Shandong, China
*Taishan, Guangdong (), a county-level city of Jiangmen, Guangdong, China
**Gre ...
,
Guangdong Province
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
in southern China, in spite of sticking to its previous conditions. The
General Contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
and
Operator is the
China General Nuclear Power Group
China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) (), formerly China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (), is a Chinese state-owned energy corporation under the SASAC of the State Council.
In China, CGN operates nuclear plants at Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plan ...
(CGN).
The construction of the first reactor at
Taishan __NOTOC__
Taishan may refer to:
*Mount Tai or Taishan (), Shandong, China
*Taishan District, Tai'an (), named after the Mount Tai, a district in Tai'an, Shandong, China
*Taishan, Guangdong (), a county-level city of Jiangmen, Guangdong, China
**Gre ...
started officially on 18 November 2009, and the second on 15 April 2010.
Construction of each unit was then planned to take 46 months, significantly faster and cheaper than the first two EPRs in Finland and France.
The
reactor pressure vessel
A reactor pressure vessel (RPV) in a nuclear power plant is the pressure vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core.
Classification of nuclear power reactors
Russian Soviet era RBMK reactors have each fuel a ...
of the first reactor was installed in June 2012, and the second in November 2014. The first pressure vessel had been imported from
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
in Japan, and
steam generators
A steam generator is a form of low water-content boiler, similar to a flash steam boiler. The usual construction is as a spiral coil of water-tube, arranged as a single, or monotube, coil. Circulation is once-through and pumped under pressure, ...
from Areva in France. The second pressure vessel and associated steam generators had been made in China, by
Dongfang Electric
Dongfang Electric Corporation () is a Chinese state-owned manufacturer of power generators and the contracts of power station projects. According to Platts, in 2009-10 the company was the second largest manufacturer of steam turbines by worldwid ...
and
Shanghai Electric
Shanghai Electric (officially Shanghai Electric Group Company Limited) is a Chinese multinational power generation and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai. The company traces its roots to 1880.
Shanghai Electri ...
.
In 2014, construction was reported to be running over two years late, mainly due to key component delays and project management issues.
Cold function tests were performed on Taishan 1 in February 2016, with start up expected in the first half of 2017. Taishan 2 was scheduled to start up later that year.
However, commissioning dates were put back six months in February 2017, with commercial operation expected in the second half of 2017 and the first half of 2018.
In December 2017, Hong Kong media reported that a component had cracked during testing, needing to be replaced.
In January 2018, commissioning was rescheduled again, with commercial operation expected in 2018 and 2019.
In June 2018, Taishan 1 achieved
criticality for the first time. On June 29, 2018, Taishan 1 was connected to the grid. It entered commercial operation in December 2018.
Taishan 2 reached these milestones in May 2019 June 2019 and September 2019,
respectively.
The Taishan project is led by Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Co. (TNPJVC), a joint venture founded by CGN (51% ownership stake), EDF (30%), and Chinese utility Guangdong Energy Group (19%), also known as Yuedian.
Companies involved in supplying equipment to Taishan Unit 1 include Framatome, which manufactured the steam generators and pressurizer in France, and China’s Dongfang Electric Corp. (DEC), which manufactured the Arabelle turbine in the engine room. That turbine was designed and licensed by General Electric. Other equipment suppliers for Unit 1 include Mitsubishi (reactor vessel); Škoda, a Czech company (core internals); and France’s Jeumont Electric, which along with DEC provided primary pumps.
In April 2020, Framatome signed a long-term service contract with TNPJVC to support operations of the two EPRs. This contract covers nuclear plant outage and maintenance work, including spare parts supply and engineering services for eight years.
In June 2021, higher than expected concentrations of radioactive gases were detected in the primary circuit of unit 1. This was later attributed to faulty fuel cladding. The reactor was taken offline in July 2021 and restarted in August 2022.
Plants under construction
Flamanville 3 (France)
![Flamanville-3 2010-07-15](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Flamanville-3_2010-07-15.jpg)
First concrete was poured for the demonstration EPR reactor at the
Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant
The Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant is located at Flamanville, Manche, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. The power plant houses two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) that produce 1.3 GWe each and came into service in 1986 and 1987, respectivel ...
on 6 December 2007.
As the name implies, this will be the third nuclear reactor on the Flamanville site, and the second instance of an EPR being built. Electrical output will be 1630 MWe (net).
The project was planned to involve around €3.3 billion of capital expenditure from
EDF EDF may refer to:
Organisations
* Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association
* Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity
* Électricité de France, a French energy company
** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary
** EDF Luminus, ...
.
From 19 October 2005 to 18 February 2006, the project was submitted to a national public debate. On 4 May 2006, the decision was made by EDF's Board of Directors to continue with the construction. Between 15 June and 31 July 2006, the unit underwent a public enquiry, which rendered a "favourable opinion" on the project. That summer, site preparation works began.
In December 2007, construction of the unit itself began. This was expected to last 54 months, with commissioning planned for 2012.
In April 2008, the French nuclear safety authority (''
Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
The ''Autorité de sûreté nucléaire'' ( en, Nuclear Safety Authority, ASN) is an independent French administrative authority set up by law 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 concerning nuclear transparency and security. It has replaced the General Direct ...
'', ASN) reported that a quarter of the welds inspected in the secondary containment steel liner are not in accordance with norms, and that cracks have been found in the concrete base. EDF stated that progress was being made on these issues, which were raised very early in construction; however, on 21 May, ASN ordered a suspension of concrete pouring on the site. A month later, concreting work resumed after ASN accepted EDF's corrective action plan, which included external oversight checks.
In May 2009,
Stephen Thomas reported that after 18 months of construction, and after a series of quality control problems, the project is "more than 20 percent over budget and EDF is struggling to keep it on schedule".
In August 2010, the regulator, ASN, reported further welding problems on the secondary containment steel liner.
The same month, EDF announced that costs had increased 50% to €5 billion, and commissioning was delayed by about two years to 2014.
In July 2011, EDF announced that the estimated costs had escalated to €6 billion, and that completion of construction was delayed to 2016.
[
]
In December 2012, EDF announced that the estimated costs had escalated to €8.5 billion.
Also in December 2012, the Italian power company
Enel
Enel S.p.A. is an Italian Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established ...
announced it was relinquishing its 12.5% stake in the project, and five future EPRs, so would be reimbursed its project stake of €613 million, plus interest.
In November 2014, EDF announced that completion of construction was delayed to 2017, due to delays in component delivery by Areva.
In April 2015, Areva informed the French nuclear regulator ASN that anomalies had been detected in the reactor vessel steel, causing "lower than expected mechanical toughness values". Further tests are underway.
In July 2015
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
reported that Areva had been aware of this problem since 2006.
In June 2015, multiple faults in cooling system safety valves were discovered by ASN.
In September 2015, EDF announced that the estimated costs had escalated to €10.5 billion, and the start-up of the reactor was delayed to the fourth quarter of 2018.
In April 2016, ASN announced that additional weak spots had been found in the reactor steel, and Areva and EDF responded that new tests would be conducted, though construction work would continue.
In February 2017, the
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
stated the project was six years late, and €7.2 billion over budget,
while renewed delays in the construction of the EPR-reactors at
Taishan Nuclear Power Plant
The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant in Taishan, Guangdong province, China.
The plant features two operational EPR reactors.
The first unit, Taishan 1, entered commercial service in December 2018, but was shut down from J ...
prompted EDF to state that Flamanville 3 remains on schedule to start operations by the end of 2018, assuming it receives regulatory approval. In June 2017, the French regulator issued a provisional ruling that Flamanville 3 is safe to start.
The discovery of quality deviations in the welding led to a further revision of the schedule in July 2018. Fuel loading was delayed until the end of 2019, and the cost estimate was increased from €10.5 billion to €10.9 billion.
In June 2019, nuclear regulator ASN determined that eight welds in steam transfer pipes passing through the two wall containment, that EDF had hoped to repair after startup, must be repaired before the reactor is commissioned.
By then, estimated costs were €11 billion.
[Pierre Breteau]
''Visualisez en graphiques les multiples dérapages de l’EPR de Flamanville''.
Le Monde, update 13 Jan 2022
In October 2019, EDF announced that because of this issue costs would increase to €12.4 billion and that fuel loading would be delayed until the end of 2022.
Pierre Moscovici, president of the
Court of Audit A Court of Audit or Court of Accounts is a Supreme audit institution, i.e. a government institution performing financial and/or legal audit (i.e. Statutory audit or External audit) on the executive branch of power.
See also
*Most of those in ...
, gave a statement on 9 July 2020 concerning the release of the report on the delay costs of the Flamanville 3. The report of the Court of Audit revealed that the costs could reach €19.1 billion instead of €12.4 billion when taking into account the additional charges due to the delay in construction.
In January 2022, it was announced that more time was needed for the repair of faulty welds and the solving of other issues.
In December 2022, EDF announced a further delay of at least six months with an estimated cost increase of €500 million due to more work to establish a new process for the
stress relieving heat treatment of some welds close to sensitive equipment. Fuel loading is now forecast for early 2024. Estimated total costs increased to €13.2 billion.
Hinkley Point C (United Kingdom)
Hinkley Point C is a nuclear power station under construction with two EPR reactors and an electrical output of 3,200
MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England.
The EPR underwent Generic Design Assessment by the
, along with the Westinghouse
AP1000
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
. Interim Design Acceptance Confirmations were postponed until lessons from the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
had been taken into account. EDF bought
British Energy
British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France (EDF) in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal-fired power ...
in 2009. EDF planned to build 4 new EPRs, subject to electricity pricing agreement with the government.
Areva has signed a strategic partnership with
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
to support the build of EPRs. On 19 March 2013, the
Development Consent Order granting planning permission for Hinkley Point C was given,
but negotiations with the UK government about electricity pricing, and project financing with private investors, still needed to be concluded.
On 21 October 2013, EDF Energy announced that an agreement had been reached regarding the nuclear stations to be built on the site of Hinkley Point C. EDF Group and the UK Government agreed on the key commercial terms of the investment contract. The final investment decision was conditional on completion of the remaining key steps, including the agreement of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
.
On 8 October 2014, the European Commission announced their agreement, with 16 out of 28 commissioners agreeing with the go ahead of the construction. On 21 September 2015, the British government announced it would provide a £2 billion support package for Hinkley Point C as Britain's first nuclear power station in 20 years.
On 21 October 2015, during Chinese
president Xi Jinping's state visit to the United Kingdom, EDF and CGN signed an investment agreement for the £18 billion (€21.3 billion) project to build two reactors at Hinkley Point.
In June 2016, EDF managers told Members of Parliament that the Hinkley Point C proposal should be postponed, until it has "solved a litany of problems", including EDF's "soaring debts". On 28 July 2016, after the resignation of a board member, the EDF board approved the final investment decision for the project.
However
Greg Clark
Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 7 July 2022 to 6 September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Member of Pa ...
, the new
in the new
government of Theresa May, then announced that the government would not sign the contract over the next few days as expected, but delay the contract to autumn to "consider carefully all the component parts of this project".
Final government approval was given in September 2016.
In July 2017, following an internal review, EDF announced revised estimates for the scheme, which included at least £1.5 billion of additional costs and up to 15 months of additional programme, leading to updated total cost estimates of £19.6–20.3 billion. In September 2019 cost estimates were revised again, to be between £21.5 and £22.5 billion, and again in January 2021 to £2223 billion, with an expected operational start date of June 2026.
In May 2022 cost estimates were revised again, to be between £25 and £26 billion (€29.630.7 billion). The plant is now estimated to start generating electricity in June 2027.
Possible future power stations
France
In July 2008, the French President announced a second EPR would be built in France due to high oil and gas prices.
Penly
Penly is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Petit-Caux.Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
, EDF postponed public consultations. In February 2013, the Minister of Industrial Renewal
Arnaud Montebourg
Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,[renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...]
along with his confidence in the EPR as a competitive project in foreign countries.
Plans to build new reactors in France were later revived.
Penly
Penly is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Petit-Caux.Gravelines
Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...
are among the candidates for the installation of a pair of EPR reactors.
In October 2019, newspaper ''
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' reported that the French government had sent EDF a "mission letter" in which it asked the company to prepare to build a total of six EPR reactors across three sites in the next 15 years.
A government decision on the construction of new reactors was not expected until after 2022.
EDF has submitted a proposal to build six EPR 2s for around €50 billion. In February 2022, French president Emmanuel Macron announced that France would in fact build six new EPR 2 reactors, the first to be commissioned by 2035, and with an option for eight more.
India
In February 2009, the
Nuclear Power Corporation of India
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is an Indian public sector undertaking based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is wholly owned by the Government of India and is responsible for the generation of electricity from nuclear power. N ...
(NPCIL) signed a memorandum of understanding with Areva to set up two EPR reactors at
Jaitapur
Jaitapur is a small port situated in Rajapur Tehsil of Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra State, India. Jaitapur lies on the Arabian sea coast
History
Jaitapur was one of the important ports in ancient and early medieval times.
Geograph ...
in Maharashtra. This was followed by a framework agreement in December 2010.
In January 2016, during French president
François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
's state visit to India a joint statement with Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
was issued. According to the statement the two leaders "have agreed on a roadmap of cooperation to speed up discussions on the Jaitapur project".
In March 2018, an Industrial Way Forward Agreement between EDF and NPCIL was signed, with an objective of producing a tender for six reactors.
In April 2021, EDF submitted to NPCIL an offer to develop six EPR reactors at the Jaitapur site, with a combined installed capacity of 9.6 GWe.
United Kingdom
Two EPR units at
Sizewell
Sizewell is an English fishing hamlet in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It belongs to the civil parish of Leiston and lies on the North Sea coast just north of the larger holiday village of Thorpeness, between the coastal towns ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
are in the planning phase.
In May 2020, EDF Energy applied for a development consent order.
If the project goes ahead electricity production is expected to start in 2031 at the earliest.
Two further EPR units have been proposed for construction at the
Moorside site near
Sellafield
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
,
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, as part of a future
clean energy hub that would also incorporate
modular reactors, renewable energy generation, hydrogen production and battery storage technologies.
Czech Republic
In October 2012, Czech utility company
ČEZ announced that Areva was eliminated from a tender for the construction of two reactors for
Temelín nuclear plant. Areva failed to comply with legal requirements of the tender. In April 2014, ČEZ cancelled the tender, because of low power prices and the government's refusal to support a minimum guaranteed energy price.
In June 2021, the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade invited EDF, along with
Westinghouse and
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP; ) is a subsidiary of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). It operates large nuclear and hydroelectric plants in South Korea, which are responsible for about 27 percent of the country's electric power.
I ...
to participate in a pre-qualification round for a new unit at the
Dukovany Nuclear Power Station
The Dukovany Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant near Dukovany in the Czech Republic.
It was the second nuclear power plant in Czechoslovakia (the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant in what is now Slovakia was constructed in 1958), and the f ...
. EDF is proposing a 1200 MWe version of the EPR for the project.
Unsuccessful proposals
Canada
EPR was considered for the two (possible expansion to four) reactor addition to the
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. It is a large nuclear facility comprising four CANDU nuclear reactors with a total output of 3,512&nbs ...
in
Ontario, Canada
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. However, the official bids had to include all contingencies, and Areva failed to enter a final bid meeting these requirements. The project was ultimately abandoned when the only bid, made by Canada's
AECL
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is a Canadian federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in the 1950s, and in October 2011 licensed this ...
, came in at well over $10/Wp.
EPR was briefly considered for an installation in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, replacing or supplanting that province's single
CANDU 6
The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide ( heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. C ...
. These plans lasted only from June 2010 until an election two months later, when the plan immediately disappeared from further study.
Finland
In 2010, the Finnish parliament decided to allow two new reactors. Both
TVO
TVO (stylized as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in Toron ...
and
Fennovoima
Fennovoima Ltd ( fi, Fennovoima Oy) is a nuclear power company established by Russian state's nuclear company Rosatom and a consortium of Finnish state-owned power and industrial companies.
The company does not own any nuclear capacities; however ...
were considering the EPR.
In December 2013, Fennovoima confirmed it had selected a Russian AES-2006
VVER
The water-water energetic reactor (WWER), or VVER (from russian: водо-водяной энергетический реактор; transliterates as ; ''water-water power reactor'') is a series of pressurized water reactor designs originally de ...
pressurised water reactor in preference to the EPR. In May 2022, after significant delays in the design and licensing phase of the project and in light of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Fennovoima cancelled the contract with
Rosatom
Rosatom, ( rus, Росатом, p=rɐsˈatəm}) also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian state corporation headquartered in Moscow that speciali ...
to build the power plant.
Italy
On 24 February 2009, Italy and France agreed to study the feasibility of building 4 new nuclear power stations in Italy. Following this, on 3 August 2009, EDF and
Enel
Enel S.p.A. is an Italian Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established ...
established a joint venture, Sviluppo Nucleare Italia, to study the feasibility of building at least four EPRs.
However, in the
2011 referendum, soon after the
Fukushima nuclear disaster
The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
, Italians voted to
repeal
A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
the new regulations permitting nuclear power in Italy. Abrogation of laws is put in effect when at least 50%+1 electors make a valid vote and a majority of these voters are in favour of abrogation. In this referendum, there was a 55% valid
voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
and 94% voted to abrogate the new regulations.
United Arab Emirates
In March 2008, French president
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
reached an agreement with the UAE cabinet that "outlines a cooperation framework for the assessment and possible use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends". This agreement was not a contract for EPR construction by any of the French nuclear companies,
Total S.A.
TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and ...
,
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
or Areva.
In May 2009, US President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed a
similar agreement with the UAE. Contracts for reactors were not given, nor was there any guarantee made that US companies would receive them.
In December 2009, the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
declined both the American and French bids and awarded a contract for construction of four non-EPR stations (
APR-1400
The APR-1400 (for Advanced Power Reactor 1400 MW electricity) is an advanced pressurized water nuclear reactor designed by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). Originally known as the Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR), this ...
) to a South Korean group including
Korea Electric Power Corporation
Korea Electric Power Corporation, better known as KEPCO (Hangul: 켑코) or Hanjeon (Hangul: 한전), is the largest electric utility in South Korea,
responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the developme ...
,
Hyundai Engineering and Construction
Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (HDEC; ) is a major construction company in South Korea. The company was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1947 as the Hyundai Civil Works Company and was a major component of the Hyundai Group. Hyundai ...
,
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and
Doosan Heavy Industries
Doosan Enerbility Co., Ltd., formerly known as Doosan Heavy Industries, is a heavy industrial company headquartered in Changwon, South Korea. It was established in 1962. Its business includes manufacturing and construction of nuclear power ...
.
After losing this order, Areva considered whether it should reintroduce the marketing of a smaller and simpler second-generation reactor design alongside the EPR, for countries that are new to nuclear power.
As of 2011 Areva and
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
offer a smaller 1100 MWe
ATMEA1 Generation III PWR.
United States
The US-EPR, the version of the EPR submitted to the U.S. regulator,
is one of the competitors for the next generation of nuclear stations in the United States, along with the
AP1000
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
and the
ESBWR
The Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) is a passively safe generation III+ reactor design derived from its predecessor, the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) and from the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). All are designs ...
. In February 2015, Areva asked to suspend the Design Certification Application Review process at the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...
(NRC).
It had been under review there with expectation to submit an application for final design approval and standard design certification since 14 December 2007. UniStar, Amarillo Power, PPL Corp and
AmerenUE
Ameren Corporation is an American power company created December 31, 1997, by the merger of St. Louis, Missouri's Union Electric Company (formerly NYSE: UEP) and the neighboring Central Illinois Public Service Company (CIPSCO Inc. holding, for ...
announced plans to file a
Combined Construction and Operating License
The Combined Construction and Operating License (Regulatory Guide 1.206, COL) replaced the previous Draft Regulatory Guide 1145 as the licensing process for new nuclear power plants in the United States. It is a part of a newer "streamlined" proce ...
application in 2008 for the US-EPR at its
Callaway station. UniStar filed a partial application in July 2007 for a proposed third unit at the
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant
The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) is a nuclear power plant located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay near Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is the only nuclear power plant in the state o ...
in Maryland. However, both proposals were subsequently cancelled.
In April 2009, Missouri legislators balked at preconstruction rate increases, prompting AmerenUE to suspend plans for its reactor. In July 2010, Constellation Energy Group cut spending on UniStar for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Station because of uncertainties for a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy,
and subsequently pulled out of the project.
In October 2008, Areva announced that it would partner with US defense firm
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
to establish a $380 million facility to construct modules and assemblies for the EPR and US-EPR reactors at Northrop Grumman's
Newport News Shipyard in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
The project was suspended indefinitely in May 2011.
Poland
In October 2021, EDF made an offer to Poland to build four or six EPR reactors across two to three sites. The combined installed capacity of the reactors would be either 6.6 or 9.9 GWe.
In October 2022, Poland selected Westinghouse's
AP1000
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
design, with construction of the first three-unit plant expected to start in 2026.
See also
*
Economics of new nuclear power plants
Nuclear power construction costs have varied significantly across the world and in time. Large and rapid increases in cost occurred during the 1970s, especially in the United States. Recent cost trends in countries such as Japan and Korea have ...
*
Nuclear power by country
Nuclear power plants operate in 32 countries and generate about a tenth of the world's electricity.
Most are in Europe, North America, East Asia and South Asia.
The United States is the largest producer of nuclear power, while France has the larg ...
Other Generation III+ designs:
*
US-APWR
*
VVER-TOI
The VVER-TOI or WWER-TOI (russian: text=Водо-водяной энергетический реактор типовой оптимизированный информатизированный, translit=Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reactor Tipov ...
*
ACR
References
{{Nuclear power in France
Pressurized water reactors