Wed 10 November 2021:
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday evening that France will relaunch the construction of nuclear reactors to “guarantee France’s energy independence.”
“We will, for the first time in decades, relaunch the construction of nuclear reactors in our country and continue to develop renewable energies,” he said, without disclosing further details on the numbers or locations of the reactors.
He explained that this is to “guarantee France’s energy independence, to guarantee our country’s electricity supply and to achieve our objectives, in particular carbon neutrality by 2050.”
Macron said that in order to pay a “reasonable” price for energy and not depend on foreign countries, the public should both continue to save energy and invest in carbon-free energy on French soil.
Faced with rising fuel prices, the French government established last month a special inflation allowance of 100 euros (about 116 dollars) for anyone earning less than 2,000 euros per month.
To deal with the unprecedented rise in energy prices, gas rates will be frozen until 2022.
France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. According to its 2015 energy transition policy, the government plans to reduce its share of nuclear energy to 50% by 2025 in order to increase the share of renewable energy. The country is currently lagging behind its targets for renewable energy goals set by the European Union.
“If we want to pay for our energy at reasonable rates and not depend on foreign countries, we must both continue to save energy and invest in the production of carbon-free energy on our soil,” Macron said.
Macron’s recent announcement was hailed by the French Nuclear Energy Society (SFEN), a scientific organization. The new reactors will be beneficial to the network, economically profitable, and will help to mobilize the sector, according to the company’s Twitter account.
FILE PHOTO: he Flamanville-3 nuclear power plant under construction in Normany.
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