No Nuclear Renaissance

The European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) once proclaimed to be a new impetus for the nuclear renaissance, turned out to be a disaster, characterized by safety deficiencies and cost explosions. The EPR construction sites in Flamanville, Olkiluoto and Hinkley Point C have already proved to be total failures even before their completion.

Years of delays in commissioning, serious safety deficiencies and skyrocketing construction costs characterize the projects.

The further construction of these reactors could be secured only by means of multi-billion Euro state rescue packages. The EPR is a clear example of the failed nuclear industry, which causes extreme costs and is thus incapable of competing with renewable energy. The current push for the development of a European fourth generation nuclear reactor will be a similar disaster to EPR’s and should therefore be stopped as soon as possible. This synopsis summarizes arguments, why a further expansion of nuclear energy should be stopped in order to avoid continuous cost explosions and billions of Euros in public debt, especially in light of significantly cheaper renewable energies.

The EPR project thus turns out to be one of the largest money pits ever

bringing AREVA and EDF to the brink of bankruptcy, similar to what the US-Japanese nuclear reactor builder Westinghouse had experienced in 2017. The EPR causes an additional debt for AREVA and EDF in excess of tens of billions of Euros. Both companies can only survive with multi-billion Euro taxpayer subsidies, which in turn increase the French national debt. The national debt of France is one of the highest in the EU, with all the known dangers to European financial stability. The EPR is thus not only a threat to the financial stability of the companies and the French state involved, but even for the EU as a whole.

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