This year is the year. At least according to France's national energy company EDF, the sole operator of France's nuclear power plant fleet, who has been betting heavily on 2024. EDF has important deadlines to meet: One site to finish and another to prepare, both in Normandy.

At the Flamanville power plant – where two reactors are already in operation – the country's first-ever third-generation reactor is still a long way off. The now famous EPR ("European Pressurized Reactor") is eventually due to go into service 12 years behind schedule. Like others before him, France's new Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, is optimistic. "This year, the Flamanville EPR will be operational," he said in his government policy statement to the Assemblée Nationale, on January 30. EDF is due to start loading the reactor with enriched uranium fuel in March. Connecting "Flamanville 3" to the electricity grid has been scheduled for mid-2024.

The reactor is due to be in full operation – producing over 1,600 megawatts – at the end of the year. That's the theory, at least. In practice, the project owner has often had to "adjust the timetable" – the last postponement was announced in December 2022. So far, of the 56 reactors already in operation in France, the most recent commissioning dates back to 1999. The second unit at Civaux, southeastern France, has already been in operation for a quarter of a century.

From one delay to the next, construction costs for the Flamanville EPR have quadrupled since the first layer of concrete was laid over 16 years ago, in December 2007. EDF has recently updated its expectations to €13.2 billion. However, according to a report by the Court of Auditors in 2020, the bill will at least reach more than €19 billion. Additional costs, such as financial expenses, must also be taken into account.

When contacted, the company would not provide details of the updated cost of this project, which it has financed with its own funds. Nor did it give any details of the timetable. Bernard Doroszczuk, president of the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), said in late January that the schedule was still "very tight," but "possible" to meet. Before authorizing any commissioning, his organization is still waiting on the "final elements" from EDF, on the "overall preparation of the site for operation" and on "a few points" concerning the "certification of conformity of certain equipment under pressure."

The difficulties experienced at Flamanville did not deter French President Emmanuel Macron, in February 2022, from announcing the construction of at least six new EPR 2 reactors, starting with two at Penly. This other Normandy power station already has two reactors which are currently in operation. This is where the relaunch of a new French nuclear program is due to begin.

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