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Post-Fukushima nuclear allergy spreads in France
Last edited Mon Apr 23, 2012, 08:54 PM - Edit history (1)
...The nuclear issue is playing a significant role in the election campaign that will determine a new president on May 6. According to public opinion polls, Sarkozy has only a slim chance of being re-elected, and if he fails, the industry will miss its most prominent salesman.
What is the record in nuclear dreamland France, which has served as a blueprint for Japan's adventures in splitting the atom? While nuclear plants provide three-quarters of the country's electricity, this equates to only 17 percent of the final energy compared to close to half still being provided by oil.
Energy independence? Due to highly inefficient uses, per capita oil consumption in France is as high or higher than in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom or even the European Union on average. In 2011, the foreign trade deficit reached a historic record of ?70 billion — most of it due to oil and gas imports — while Germany registered a ?158 billion surplus.
When freezing weather hit Europe in early February, France's neighbors made available up to 13,000 MW net to save the French grid from collapsing. Of this, 3,000 MW came from Germany, which had shut down half of its nuclear fleet just days after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
This is the result of irrational policy incentives that have pushed electric space heating into one-third of existing and three- quarters of new homes. As a result, every degree Celsius drop in temperature increases capacity needs by 2,300 MW. Furthermore, energy poverty now affects about 4 million French households, of which 1.1 million had access to social tariffs in 2010, a 120 percent increase since 2007.
What is the record in nuclear dreamland France, which has served as a blueprint for Japan's adventures in splitting the atom? While nuclear plants provide three-quarters of the country's electricity, this equates to only 17 percent of the final energy compared to close to half still being provided by oil.
Energy independence? Due to highly inefficient uses, per capita oil consumption in France is as high or higher than in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom or even the European Union on average. In 2011, the foreign trade deficit reached a historic record of ?70 billion — most of it due to oil and gas imports — while Germany registered a ?158 billion surplus.
When freezing weather hit Europe in early February, France's neighbors made available up to 13,000 MW net to save the French grid from collapsing. Of this, 3,000 MW came from Germany, which had shut down half of its nuclear fleet just days after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
This is the result of irrational policy incentives that have pushed electric space heating into one-third of existing and three- quarters of new homes. As a result, every degree Celsius drop in temperature increases capacity needs by 2,300 MW. Furthermore, energy poverty now affects about 4 million French households, of which 1.1 million had access to social tariffs in 2010, a 120 percent increase since 2007.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20120419a1.html
Mycle Schneider is an independent international consultant on energy and nuclear policy. He has advised the Belgian, French and German governments and has lectured extensively at parliaments and universities around the world, including at Japan's Diet and Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University.
"This is the result of irrational policy incentives that have pushed electric space heating into one-third of existing and three- quarters of new homes. As a result, every degree Celsius drop in temperature increases capacity needs by 2,300 MW. Furthermore, energy poverty now affects about 4 million French households, of which 1.1 million had access to social tariffs in 2010, a 120 percent increase since 2007."
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French Sour on Nuclear Power
By Liam Moriarty ⋅ April 24, 2012
...the reality of the EPR has so far been less impressive. The Flamanville plant is four years behind schedule and nearly $4 billion over budget. And another EPR under construction in Finland has also been plagued with delays and huge cost overruns.
...
“Clearly, what Fukushima changed in France is that now, people know about nuclear energy,” says Greenpeace France campaigner Sophia Majnoni. Majnoni says the accident in Japan, plus the upcoming French presidential election, has triggered a national debate.
“It’s a political debate, but also a technical debate, which gave a lot of information to the people which they didn’t have before,” she says. “So I would say that the debate is now much more mature in France than it was a year ago.”
Once rock-solid support for nuclear power here has fallen dramatically. Recent polls have found that more than 80 percent of French voters now object to building new nuclear plants, and nearly two-thirds support phasing out existing plants.
Those poll numbers may have played a role in the decision by France’s opposition Socialists to support a plan...
By Liam Moriarty ⋅ April 24, 2012
...the reality of the EPR has so far been less impressive. The Flamanville plant is four years behind schedule and nearly $4 billion over budget. And another EPR under construction in Finland has also been plagued with delays and huge cost overruns.
...
Graffiti on a roadside in Avranches, Normandy, opposing the EPR -- European Pressurized Reactor -- under construction in nearby Flamanville. The EPR is years behind schedule and billions over budget. (Photo: Liam Moriarty)
“Clearly, what Fukushima changed in France is that now, people know about nuclear energy,” says Greenpeace France campaigner Sophia Majnoni. Majnoni says the accident in Japan, plus the upcoming French presidential election, has triggered a national debate.
“It’s a political debate, but also a technical debate, which gave a lot of information to the people which they didn’t have before,” she says. “So I would say that the debate is now much more mature in France than it was a year ago.”
Once rock-solid support for nuclear power here has fallen dramatically. Recent polls have found that more than 80 percent of French voters now object to building new nuclear plants, and nearly two-thirds support phasing out existing plants.
Those poll numbers may have played a role in the decision by France’s opposition Socialists to support a plan...
http://www.theworld.org/2012/04/france-nuclear-power/
