The government unveiled its bill on Monday night aimed at simplifying procedures to accelerate the installation of new nuclear reactors, with the desire to lay the first stone before the end of the presidential term. President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to begin construction of six state-of-the-art nuclear reactors (EPRs), with an option for eight more, while accelerating the deployment of renewable energy with priority given to solar and offshore wind power.
The nuclear bill “will make it possible to speed up the installation of new reactors, on existing sites, which already house reactors,” Energy Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher told Europe 1 on Tuesday.
“It is a common sense measure to save time,” he added, confirming information from Figaro that the objective would be to lay the first stone of the future new generation EPR2 reactor before the end of the five-year period of 2027, although the start-up cannot take place before 2035.
Urban authorization projects exempt by law
In the statement of reasons for the bill, the government invokes the climatic emergency and the country’s electrical needs, which will increase. As for the acceleration of solar and wind energy, which are the subject of a separate bill, the government first wants to simplify administrative procedures. The law, for example, would exempt the projects from the building license because the compliance control will be carried out by the State services when the creation request is submitted.
The text authorizes reactors in areas covered by the Coastal Law, with certain exceptions for projects located in continuity with existing nuclear sites, by the sea.
A critical consultation period
The text was sent on Monday night for consultation to the National Council for the Ecological Transition (CNTE), which brings together unions, businessmen, NGOs, communities. The League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) has already expressed its anger at the method and schedule, and the absence of an impact study announced:
Source: BFM TV
