• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

France to build new sustainable energy plants

They don't make it clear, but I hope they are at least considering thorium reactors.

I've read they address nearly all of the traditional nuclear concerns.
 


The agreement is to build 6 plants, while by separate action closing 12, and then look into the possibility of building 8 more. Get that straight. Misleading OP.
 
WillyPete said:
They don't make it clear, but I hope they are at least considering thorium reactors.

I've read they address nearly all of the traditional nuclear concerns.
Click to expand...
In the United States, thorium research has been on the back burner for more than 30 years though I do not know why . No country in the world today has an approval agency that is ready to approve the current designs that are available for a thorium reactor. This includes the molten salt reactor designs that are available. Many nations do not even have the knowledge base necessary to create an approval agency in the first place.
And the start-up process could be lengthy and costly.
Because there is not an infrastructure in place to support thorium technologies, the cost of start-up would need to include the cost to implement administrative oversight of this technology.

A standard thorium reactor would use irradiated thorium to produce energy. When thorium is irradiated, it creates uranium-232. This material produces high levels of dangerous gamma rays.

However there are many plusses and that is the route that India and China have followed .

Above are extracts from Vittana.org
Also see . for useful video giving relative system assessments
 
bluesmoke said:
The agreement is to build 6 plants, while by separate action closing 12, and then look into the possibility of building 8 more. Get that straight. Misleading OP.
Click to expand...
How in the world is the OP misleading? And what in the world is he not "getting straight?"

First - all he did was cite a CNN Business article - is that your beef, with CNN Business? Then diss them, not the OP.

Second - the article's headline is:

France announces plans to build up to 14 nuclear reactors​


They ARE planning to build 14 reactors - 6 right away and 8 in feasibility studies (iow - "planning"). Is that your beef? That 8 are simply studies?

Third, the action to close 12 was merely a promise by Macron - a promise which, according to this article, "marks a policy reversal for Macron" - given how France had to resort to coal power to meet their energy needs after a fifth of their nuclear plants went offline. Closing the 12, which is not relevant to the OP but only to address your assertion, isn't happening.

Again, from the article:
Barbara Pompili, France's minister for energy transition, said the nuclear policy shift was needed due to an "acceleration" of the "unprecedented" energy situation.
"To have more electricity, we need to produce more," Pompili told CNN affiliate BFMTV.

So, your post is entirely off base and, if anything, it's you who needs to "get it straight."
 
  • Like
Reactions: PoS
WillyPete said:
They don't make it clear, but I hope they are at least considering thorium reactors.

I've read they address nearly all of the traditional nuclear concerns.
Click to expand...
Show me a working utility/commercial grade thorium reactor anywhere.

They still don't have the technology for them complete.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PoS
bluesmoke said:
The agreement is to build 6 plants, while by separate action closing 12, and then look into the possibility of building 8 more. Get that straight. Misleading OP.
Click to expand...
Newer plants are generally larger. 37 of their operational plants were built in the 70's This is more like an end of life shutdown. They currently have 56 operational reactors. France has a net export of 57.7 Twh to their neighbors. They have a below average energy cost to their people because of their primary use of nuclear power.

If they are reducing their capacity, then its their neighbors that will hurt. Not them.

Nuclear Power in France - World Nuclear Association

France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. This is due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of nuclear generation.
www.world-nuclear.org
 
Lord of Planar said:
Show me a working utility/commercial grade thorium reactor anywhere.

They still don't have the technology for them complete.
Click to expand...
Sodium reactors are in operation now, and they'll probably be the latest ones to be built in France. The molten salt reactor ought to be their target design though since theyre the safest of these new generation types.
 
PoS said:
Sodium reactors are in operation now, and they'll probably be the latest ones to be built in France. The molten salt reactor ought to be their target design though since theyre the safest of these new generation types.
Click to expand...
Yes, but do you know of any thorium reactors operating other than small test reactors? And even there, I think there is currently only one being built, and not in operation yet.

I would love to see thorium reactors, but right now, I think its still in the fantasy stage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PoS
EdwinWillers said:
How in the world is the OP misleading? And what in the world is he not "getting straight?"

First - all he did was cite a CNN Business article - is that your beef, with CNN Business? Then diss them, not the OP.

Second - the article's headline is:

France announces plans to build up to 14 nuclear reactors​


They ARE planning to build 14 reactors - 6 right away and 8 in feasibility studies (iow - "planning"). Is that your beef? That 8 are simply studies?

Third, the action to close 12 was merely a promise by Macron - a promise which, according to this article, "marks a policy reversal for Macron" - given how France had to resort to coal power to meet their energy needs after a fifth of their nuclear plants went offline. Closing the 12, which is not relevant to the OP but only to address your assertion, isn't happening.

Again, from the article:
Barbara Pompili, France's minister for energy transition, said the nuclear policy shift was needed due to an "acceleration" of the "unprecedented" energy situation.
"To have more electricity, we need to produce more," Pompili told CNN affiliate BFMTV.

So, your post is entirely off base and, if anything, it's you who needs to "get it straight."
Click to expand...

CNN did mislead and the OP used that to support the implication of bldg. 14 new reactors. In turn, that’s misleading.

Closing the 12 as a promise is at least as much an assurance as is planning to “study” the “possibility” of opening 8 new reactors, counted in the 14, as if it’s going to happen.
 
EdwinWillers said:
How in the world is the OP misleading? And what in the world is he not "getting straight?"

First - all he did was cite a CNN Business article - is that your beef, with CNN Business? Then diss them, not the OP.

Second - the article's headline is:

France announces plans to build up to 14 nuclear reactors​


They ARE planning to build 14 reactors - 6 right away and 8 in feasibility studies (iow - "planning"). Is that your beef? That 8 are simply studies?

Third, the action to close 12 was merely a promise by Macron - a promise which, according to this article, "marks a policy reversal for Macron" - given how France had to resort to coal power to meet their energy needs after a fifth of their nuclear plants went offline. Closing the 12, which is not relevant to the OP but only to address your assertion, isn't happening.

Again, from the article:
Barbara Pompili, France's minister for energy transition, said the nuclear policy shift was needed due to an "acceleration" of the "unprecedented" energy situation.
"To have more electricity, we need to produce more," Pompili told CNN affiliate BFMTV.

So, your post is entirely off base and, if anything, it's you who needs to "get it straight."
Click to expand...

France does not have a plan to build 14 reactors. It has a plan to build 6 and consider 8 more. If they had a plan to build 14, they would say they had a plan to build 14.

“Promise”? France is actually decommissioning 12, in fact now 14, plants. It is more certain they will complete that process than not. What it would take to bring those plants into standards is more work than it’s worth. That’s why new plants get built. To replace old ones, not add or increase the share of nuclear power in France’s future plans.

Excerpted from the article in the link further below:

‘ “Even 14 new nuclear reactors will not be enough to replace France’s aging nuclear power plants, Rystad Energy’s gas and power analyst Fabian Rønningen told NGI. “Additional new capacity is needed and existing reactors, many of which are 40 or more years old, would have to have their lifetimes extended. Otherwise, nuclear is projected to play a reduced role in the French and European power sector from 2030 onwards.” ‘

(See 3rd para):
France Counting on Nuclear Power to Help Replace Natural Gas, Other Fossil Fuels - Natural Gas Intelligence

The evidence does not support a "Go nukes" on the part of France. It supports a slowdown in the reduction of the role of nuclear power in supplying France's energy needs.

The OP implication is that France is increasing nuclear power generation. That implication is obvious. And, misleading. Also quite obvious is the OP and your lack of research, a characteristic typical of con posters.
 
Lord of Planar said:
Newer plants are generally larger. 37 of their operational plants were built in the 70's This is more like an end of life shutdown. They currently have 56 operational reactors. France has a net export of 57.7 Twh to their neighbors. They have a below average energy cost to their people because of their primary use of nuclear power.

If they are reducing their capacity, then its their neighbors that will hurt. Not them.

Nuclear Power in France - World Nuclear Association

France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. This is due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of nuclear generation.
www.world-nuclear.org
Click to expand...


Yes, France is reducing nuclear capacity. You provide no evidence that by any of France's energy plans, their overall energy production will be reduced such that
it's "...their neighbors that will hurt."

Excerpted from the article in the link further below:

‘ “Even 14 new nuclear reactors will not be enough to replace France’s aging nuclear power plants, Rystad Energy’s gas and power analyst Fabian Rønningen told NGI. “Additional new capacity is needed and existing reactors, many of which are 40 or more years old, would have to have their lifetimes extended. Otherwise, nuclear is projected to play a reduced role in the French and European power sector from 2030 onwards.” ‘

(See 3rd para):
France Counting on Nuclear Power to Help Replace Natural Gas, Other Fossil Fuels - Natural Gas Intelligence

France is bldg the new reactors so as not to have to use dirty energy and thus meet their clean energy goals. Meanwhile, renewable energy production is being increased in capacity and share of total energy produced.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom