France has bet on nuclear power plants to survive the oncoming energy crisis as the European Union moves to cut off Russia’s oil and gas ties in the wake of the Paris-Moscow Ukraine war. Nuclear power supplies about 70% of France’s electricity and has the largest share of any other country in the world.
But about half of Europe’s largest French nuclear power plant has been taken offline a storm of unforeseen problems swirls around state-sponsored nuclear power operator France Electric Power (EDF). rice field.
France’s electricity prices have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly 30 years due to the shutdown of EDF, Europe’s largest electricity exporter, and just as the war in Ukraine is causing more widespread inflation. Recorded a record high. France faces uncertain prospects that it will have to launch rolling blackouts this winter and import electricity instead of supplying large amounts of electricity to Russia’s oil-centric UK, Italy and other European countries. doing.
The crunch couldn’t have hit a worse time. After the European Union agreed to cut off Russia’s oil, oil prices reached record highs, intensifying economic distress in Europe and joining the crisis of living costs that France and other countries are trying to tackle. The price of natural gas, which France uses to compensate for fluctuations in nuclear energy, has also skyrocketed.
As Russia’s invasion redefines Europe’s energy considerations, nuclear energy proponents are already adapting wind, solar and other renewable energies to meet their ambitious climate change goals. It states that it will complement the ongoing shifts and help fill Europe’s fuel shortages.
However, resolving the crisis at EDF is not easy.
