France's Nuclear Offensive Hits a Snag: First New Nuclear Power Plant Not Expected to Be Online Before 2038
Paris, France – France has an aging nuclear fleet and plans to build new nuclear power plants in the coming years. To this end, the Nuclear Policy Council (CPN) sets the key guidelines for French nuclear policy. At the latest meeting on March 17, 2025, it became clear that the first reactor from the new EPR2 design series will not be operational and online before 2038.
France: No New Nuclear Power Plant Before 2038 – Delays in EPR2 Construction
Following the formal commissioning of the French EPR nuclear power plant Flamanville 3, with a gross capacity of 1,600 MW, France currently operates 57 nuclear power plants. However, no new nuclear power plants will be connected to the grid in France anytime soon. After the Nuclear Policy Council meeting, the Élysée Palace announced that the first planned reactor with the new EPR2 design at Penly will likely not be operational in 2035 as previously planned, but will instead come online in 2038. This marks the first delay in the EPR2 program.
Following a detailed review, which confirmed the progress of work, the Council subsequently urged EDF to strengthen measures for cost and schedule management and to present a binding cost and time estimate by the end of 2025. EDF was also reminded to further solidify the industrial control of the program.
Financing: Subsidized Loans and Government-Guaranteed Minimum Remuneration for Nuclear Power
A major sticking point is the cost and financing for the six planned EPR2 nuclear reactors. This model is a new nuclear power plant design, a streamlined version of the current large EPR reactors, each with a capacity of 1,650 MW, such as in Flamanville 3 (France), Olkiluoto 3 (Finland), and Hinkley Point C (UK). According to the newspaper Ouest-France, only a "general construction" plan from 2024 is available for the new EPR2 series, and the detailed design for the future EPR2 reactors has not yet been completed.
The Nuclear Policy Council examined the basic principles of the financing and regulatory model for the construction program of the six EPR2 reactors. According to this model, at least half of the construction costs will be covered by government-subsidized loans. Additionally, a CFD model (Contract for Difference) is planned, meaning a differential contract with a minimum remuneration for nuclear power at a maximum of 100 € per MWh (10.0 cents/kWh) based on 2024 prices.
If electricity prices on the stock market are below 10 cents/kWh, the French government will cover the difference. Further details, such as the potential link of the minimum remuneration for French nuclear power to inflation, are still unclear and are likely part of the ongoing discussions with the EU Commission.
French Court of Auditors Warns – Construction Costs and Financing of the EPR2 Program Unclear
In late 2023, the French Court of Auditors (Cour des comptes) assessed the technical maturity of the EPR2 program as "insufficient" to move from general to detailed planning. This milestone was reached with the start of detailed planning in July 2024, but the projected profitability of the EPR2 program remains unknown, according to the Court of Auditors.
As the EPR2 program continues to be marked by delays in design, a lack of a mature cost estimate, and a financing plan, while EDF remains highly indebted, the Court of Auditors issued a new recommendation: The final investment decision for the EPR2 program should be withheld until financing is secured and studies on detailed design progress according to the intended path for the "first nuclear concrete" milestone.
This is intended to avoid "deviations" seen in the EPR reactors at Olkiluoto (Finland), Hinkley Point (UK), and Flamanville (France).
According to the French Court of Auditors, the cost estimates for the three EPR2 pairs have increased by 30 percent from the originally projected 51.7 billion euros (in 2020 prices) to 79.9 billion euros (in 2023 prices), with no end in sight.
Source: IWR Online, 19 Mar 2025
