The Minister of Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, declared that she wanted to relaunch nuclear power by going “beyond the first six EPRs” planned.
While the presentation of the bill relating to energy sovereignty is scheduled for in a few weeks, the Minister of Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher announced that she wanted to go “beyond the first six EPRs” planned to relaunch nuclear power. . Emmanuel Macron detailed the nuclear recovery program in his speech in Belfort in February 2022. Last December, the Head of State mentioned eight additional reactors “in the coming months”. In an interview with La Tribune on Sunday January 7, the Minister of Transition explained that “we need nuclear power beyond the first six EPRs since the historic park will not be eternal.”
“Additional construction” after 2026
The heart of the text, which will soon be revealed in the Council of Ministers, details the importance of the eight reactors but does not address the objectives of developing renewable energies by 2030. The wording of the text “remains technologically neutral”, according to Agnès Pannier-Runacher. In order for France to reduce its share of fossil fuels in the energy mix, from 60% to 40% in 2035, it will be necessary “to undertake, after 2026, additional construction representing 13 gigawatts”, explains the Minister of Transition. Which corresponds to the power of eight EPRs, “without setting this or that technology in stone”.
The bill also provides for a “price regulation” measure and a “consumer protection” measure which will ask suppliers to “transmit a monthly schedule and an annual estimate for each change of contract”, as well as faster sanctions. for “rogue suppliers.”