French plans to support state-owned energy giant EDF in building six new nuclear reactors will face scrutiny from the EU, Brussels has said. The European Commission will assess whether the proposed backing for the electricity provider complies with EU state aid rules.
The European Commission investigation will reportedly look into concerns that French state aid could reinforce EDF's market power and see Paris shoulder too much of the multibillion-euro project's investment risk.
"The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether public support that France plans to grant for the construction and operation of six new nuclear reactors is in line with EU state aid rules," Brussels said in a statement.
The nuclear recovery program announced in 2022 by France's President Emmanuel Macron provides for the construction of six new generation reactors known as EPR2 – with a total capacity of just under 10,000 megawatts.
They will be built in three pairs at three existing nuclear plants: Penly, Gravelines and then Bugey.
Construction costs for the units, which are planned for commissioning between 2038 and 2044, are estimated at about €73 billion, according to the commission.
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State loan
Paris would cover about 60 percent of that with a subsidised loan at a preferential rate and provide EDF with "stable revenue" under a 40-year contract, according to the commission.
The French scheme also envisages a risk-sharing mechanism to shield the energy firm from unforeseen events such as natural disasters and changes in national law.
The probe would check whether the aid was "necessary and proportionate" with respect to EU rules, according to the bloc's antitrust regulator.
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The opening of an investigation was a "common step" in such cases and did not prejudge its outcome, it added.
France said it would support the review, which it described as "standard" and expected it to move "swiftly".
"France's new nuclear energy sector will, in the coming years, be a major contributor to EU-generated electricity," the French government said in a statement.
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen recently pivoted the EU back towards nuclear describing Europe's past turn away from atomic energy as a "strategic mistake", as soaring oil prices rekindle concerns about the bloc's energy vulnerability.
(with AFP)
