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EDF Says Lessons Learned Could Make Future EPR Projects 30% Cheaper

By Kamen Kraev
23 October 2017

EDF Says Lessons Learned Could Make Future EPR Projects 30% Cheaper
A computer mockup of the Hinkley Point C nuclear station in England. Photo courtesy EDF Energy.

23 Oct (NucNet): French state-controlled utility EDF is aiming to reduce the cost of its future EPR projects by 30%, based on lessons learned from the delayed construction of the Flamanville-3 project in northern France and the Olkiluoto-3 project in western Finland, according to Jean-Pierre West, the company’s director for optimisation and performance of engineering. Mr West told a conference in Brussels that the reduction can be achieved by avoiding a number of unexpected contingency costs of the kind incurred during the construction of the two existing EPR projects. Construction of Flamanville-3 began in 2007 and of Olkiluoto-3 in 2005. Both units are expected to come online in 2019. Mr West said the final cost of the Flamanville-3 project is estimated at €10.5bn ($12.4bn), up from about €6.5bn at the start of construction. He said standardisation of the design, construction, safety and licensing process is vital for controlling project costs. He said better project management and more digitalisation are some of the ways EDF can move forward. Asked about the cost of the Hinkley Point C EPR project in England, Mr West said two-unit project is estimated to cost £19.6bn (€21.8bn, $25.83bn). He said the nuclear industry needs to speak to regulatory bodies and make sure that licensing and safety requirements do not change in the course of projects’ construction phases. According to Guy Buckenham, head of generation policy at UK-based EDF Energy, the local developer of the Hinkley Point C project, the successful construction of the Hinkley Point EPRs could bring down costs for future EPR projects in the UK, notably the two-unit Sizewell C. EDF is also building two EPR units together with China General Nuclear Power (CGN) at Taishan-1 and -2 in Guangdong province, southern China. Both units are expected to become operational in early 2018.

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