Unit 3 of France’s Flamanville NPP shut down automatically just one day after it began operation. EDF teams carried out the first divergence operations on 3 September but on the following morning the reactor automatically stopped, an EDF spokeswoman said. Initial elements from the technical diagnosis suggest the incident “could be linked to an inappropriate configuration of the installation,” she said, adding that teams were undertaking checks before relaunching divergence.
The European Pressurised Reactor (EPR – the model for France’s new generation of power plants – was finally completed 12 years behind schedule and four times over budget. It was initially estimated at €3.3bn ($3.65bn) but has increased to €13.2bn. In 2020, the Cour des Comptes (National Audit Office) estimated it at €19bn factoring in additional financing costs.
The reactor startup is a long process and an EPR is a complex machine that is being operated for the first time in France, so it is common to encounter technical problems during tests, the EDF spokeswoman said. The shutdown “proves the safety system is working well,” she added, noting that staff were “doing the necessary technical checks and analysis… then they will restart the reactor”.
Nicolas Goldberg, Associate Director at Paris-based Colombus Consulting noted: “It’s impossible to say if it’s serious or not with certainty, but I’m leaning towards the benign hazard. This is common in industrial process startups. We’ll see in the next few days.”
