The renovation of the tricolor nuclear park will require the use of a large workforce. Although Emmanuel Macron announced at the beginning of the year the construction of six new EPR2s and potentially an additional eight with a first commissioning in 2035, EDF estimated on Tuesday that the sector will need to hire 10 to 15,000 people per year during the period 2023. – 2030 to make this project a reality, reports Reuters.
During a press conference, EDF’s general delegate for industrial quality and nuclear skills, Alain Tranzer, indicated that “one in two employees who will work in the sector in 2030 does not work there today, so there is a significant challenge to attract , train and recruit”.
EDF alone would hire 3,000 people per year in the nuclear sector during the period 2023-2030, compared to 2,500 during 2019-2022, during which period 5,000 people joined the sector each year. The sector now employs some 220,000 people in more than 3,000 companies.
Start of work at Penly scheduled for mid-2024
At the Penly power plant (Seine-Maritime), where two EPR2s should see the light of day, the site could bring together 7,500 employees at its peak of activity in 2029. EDF plans to start the first preparatory work in mid-2024. “If the (political) decision is made quickly, we aim to start the preparatory work on this site in mid-2024, for its commissioning between 2035 and 2037,” said Gabriel Oblin, project manager of the EPR2 nuclear reactors.
These preparatory works expected to last three years include the “moving of land, the preparation of the platform to build the work” nuclear, said Gabriel Oblin. Then, at the end of 2027, the construction of the reactors will begin.
Source: BFM TV
